The Unfortunate Tragedy of the Uchiha
by Hawkllama
Summary: The Uchiha Massacre was a great tragedy that was the black stain on Konoha's past... But how did it affect the instigator of their deaths? How did it affect Itachi Uchiha? A retelling of the Uchiha Massacre through the eyes of Itachi Uchiha.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I had the fabulous idea to write a short story from the point of view of Itachi days before he kills the clan. ****  
**

**I looked up pre-massacre stories by the way, and my story is the FIRST OF ITS KIND. I FEEL SO DAMN ACCOMPLISHED AND SMART FOR THINKING OF THIS! :3 Anyways, this is going to have maybe 10-15 chapters. At least, that's what I'm aiming for. If it's more (or less)...meh who cares?**

**The beginning chapter is going to start with an OC. NO, SHE IS NOT GOING TO BE A CONSTANT MAIN CHARACTER! SHE IS JUST SO I CAN START THIS SHIT OFF!**

***Ahem* Anyways, as I said, I was desperately trying to find a good way to start this, but nothing was working, so I thought, 'Hey, let's make some random Uchiha girl as the first chapter, then drag Itachi in!'**

**It was a foolproof plan that turned out very nicely. **

**So now, I have this amazing story which has never been done before. Keep in mind guys, this thing was the first! Aww yea! :3333**

**Sorry. I'm overreacting maybe a tad bit too much.**

**Anyways, if you read all that jazz thanks bruh. ^.^ And now, enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

Kei Uchiha was as normal as a girl could get.

Regular straight-A grades in the academy. Good friends. Nice family. Pretty cool boyfriend.

Yes, she had it all. At least she did. Up until that night.

The night she died... And how one of her own killed her...

(Though, the story is not about her, hardly at all.)

* * *

"Kei-chan!" Satoyo whined. "Where are you going?"

Kei flashed a grin to her younger sister. "Out with Kizashi. So tell Mom that I'm going to miss Shogi tonight!" Kei called, and dashed out the door before her sister could protest any further.

Kei had been dating her slightly shy boyfriend for about 4 months now. A bit after they left the academy, he had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out.

Kei gladly accepted, knowing that her parents would disapprove. She did this slightly out of childish rebellion against the old Uchiha traditions, but mostly because she _did _indeed have a crush on Kizashi.

She slowed to a jog as she neared the gate to leave the compound. Luckily, there was no one there guarding the gate tonight.

Perhaps she would've just jumped over the walls, but being an Uchiha required certain...etiquette. Especially in the presence of other non-clan members.

People always thought being an Uchiha was fun and cool because it came with an amazing kekkei genkai, but it really wasn't too much different than an average life.

The only difference was the old traditions that the head of the clan, Fugaku Uchiha, stubbornly insisted upon following. And Kei's father, who disagreed with Fugaku, yet dared not defy him in fear of losing his place in the Uchiha clan council.

Yes, there was indeed a council. It was like what the Hyuuga had only more like...a dictatorship. Fugaku acted as the dictator for every meeting. Though the council was there to help make the decisions, they were used instead for show. The meetings were more like Fugaku stating what he would change and the council could agree or disagree. Regardless, whatever Fugaku said was law. Even if you disagreed with him.

Kei had left the compound and finally reached Kizashi's house which was luckily one of the closer houses to the Uchiha district.

She smiled to herself as she stepped onto the veranda. Just before she could knock however, the door was flung open and Kei was suddenly wrapped in a warm hug.

"Hey Uchiha-chan!" Kizashi said, his voice muffled by her hair.

"Kiza-kun, I told you to call me Kei for Kami's sake." Kei rolled her eyes.

Kizashi Ōkunomizu came from a normal civilian family. Or that's what most people thought. Apparently his family used to be a clan as large as the Uchiha. However they were killed off in the Mist Massacre as it was called. The Mist Massacre occurred when the Ōkunomizu clan tried to escape from Kirigakure, because of the extremely barbaric 'Entrance Exam'. The Ōkunomizu clan was already dying off, and this exam was not helping the matter.

Fearing that their secrets would be revealed, the Mist ANBU slaughtered the clan as they made their way across the countries eventually reaching Konoha, when it was just being built. Unluckily, Kizashi was the only one of his direct family to survive. His parents were killed protecting him from the ANBU. The other few survivors buried their past in the village and vowed to never touch another kunai again.

Yet one of their descendants became a very powerful ninja nearly 100 years later.

Kizashi himself was the first in a long while to inherit a kekkei genkai that was once thought forgotten. It was a jutsu called, 'Aqua Imperium' which meant 'water control'. It allowed the user to manipulate everything that contained water. They could pull the water out of the air, or cause a extreme downpour. Basically they were able to control water for as long as their chakra held out.

Since the water itself didn't need chakra to control it, the jutsu was easy to use and required very very little chakra. Best of all, the enemy could not use the water that was already under the Aqua Imperium.

For example, if a ninja used Aqua Imperium to control an entire lake, the water in that lake could not be used by the enemy until Aqua Imperium released the water.

It was a very powerful kekkei genkai. In the wrong hands, it could destroy most anything.

Which was why Kizashi was so shy. As a child, he was told by his foster parents (Both former ANBU.) to beware of the other children. They warned him of the evil of his ancestor's village, and drilled that fear into him. So when he entered the academy, he shunned every offer of friendship.

At first, the children tried again and again to be his friend, but he constantly pushed them away for fear of being hurt. Eventually, they gave up altogether.

As he grew older, he became the best in his class. Not only that, but he was old enough now to not fear the stories that his parents told him as a child. So he reached out and made a few friends.

And he made friends easily due to the fact that he was the best ninja in the academy and wasn't too hard on the eyes.

Despite that, he was still naturally a shy person. Until one day he was paired up with Kei on a group project. The two of them clicked, and received the highest grade in the class.

Ever since, the two were joined at the hip. It was like fate had destined them to be together. They became the bestest of friends. You'd never see one without the other. They even were put on the same team.

Finally, one day Kizashi decided to be bold. That was the day that he asked Kei out on a date.

And that was the day that Kei started to rebel against the unfair traditions of her clan. By agreeing to go on a date with Kizashi, she sealed her fate as 'The Uchiha girl that didn't follow tradition'. Such as the tradition of marrying another Uchiha.

Even if they weren't _direct _family, that still didn't change the fact that you would be marrying your own blood. Kei didn't want to marry into the Uchiha clan.

Because of her obstinance, the Uchiha elders wanted to make an example of her "bad" behavior. So they tried everything in their power to try and destroy the little social life that she had.

Which meant that she lost the only two friends she had made in the academy. Rumors were spread among the kids that she was a trouble-maker, and that you shouldn't hang around the riff-raff known as Kei.

Though all of her "trouble" was overshadowed by Fugaku Uchiha's eldest son Itachi, who was a walking miracle. His son was the epitome of perfection and the way that a child should behave.

Kei herself had never met Fugaku or any of his family. That particular Uchiha family was held with the highest regard and reverence. They had another son, two years younger than Kei, however she didn't remember what his name was. Something with an S...

Anyways, other than all of that, Kei was perhaps the most down-to-earth person you'd meet. Her and Kizashi had a good relationship, and her family loved her. That's all that mattered to her.

Kizashi was now her only friend. And only boyfriend too. And that's all she needed.

"I'll call you whatever I please Kei-san." Kizashi flashed a grin at Kei, who's heart jumped.

Stop it, she thought to herself. Why do you always get like this?

Maybe because he's a walking angel...

Kei mentally face-palmed herself. Oh Kami shut up...

But she couldn't deny that he _was _indeed gorgeous. His features were chiseled and he had unusual pale red eyes that sparkled with a kaleidoscope of colors. Whenever he was angry, Kei swore that his eyes turned dark red like her Sharingan.

His eyes weren't the only interesting feature. His hair was also a very bright golden color similar to the strange blonde child who lived alone (Kei wondered why the villagers seemed to regard him hatefully...). Only, his hair had more gold than blonde.

He was almost always smiling when he was around her. When he was surrounded by strangers though, he retreated into his shell. Figuratively, of course.

Only Kei could bring out the playful and lively side of Kizashi Momochi. And only Kizashi could bring out the loud and bubbly side of Kei Uchiha.

"Whatever." Kei rolled her eyes, and pushed Kizashi playfully.

"So," He smiled. "We're going to dinner at Jushirushi's tonight."

Kei gasped. "What?! No! That place cost a fortune!"

"Exactly. I've been saving up for ages!" Kizashi grabbed her hand and pulled her away from his house and into the street.

"C'mon, let's go!"

"Kizashi!" Kei protested. "I'm not even wearing anything fancy!"

"Neither am I" He replied with a shrug. "Besides, so long as we can pay, they'll be fine."

"But-!"

"Nope. We're going there. Besides, I hear that everything there is locally grown. And it's completely fresh. Apparently they have a garden on the roof. Can you imagine? I hope they have tomatoes there. Because-"

"Okay, okay!" Kei said with a laugh. "Shut up, I get it!"

Kizashi gasped mockingly. "How dare you tell me to shut up! Is that proper behavior for a proper Uchiha woman like thyself?"

Kei rolled her eyes. "Screw you Kiz-chan."

Kizashi looked mortally wounded and insulted. "Kiz-chan?"

"Yup. I've decided that that will be your nickname whenever you start teasing me."

"But," Kizashi frowned. "Kiz-chan? _Seriously?_"

Kei laughed, and pulled him along.

"C'mon you weirdo."

Again. Kizashi looked insulted.

"You think I'm weird?"

"Yup." She replied.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Kei mumbled with a slight blush. "But you're my weirdo."

Kizashi smiled softly.

"I love you too." He whispered and squeezed her hand gently.

The rest of the walk was spent in comfortable silence between the two teenagers.

* * *

**Whew! There you go! This took ages for me to type, and is probably going to be ages before it gets published! Because I want to try and pre write all of the chapters like I'm doing for my other Naruto story '**Castle of Glass**'. You should read it. It's SasuSaku. **

**Well thanks for reading this. I love you, you fab motherfucker you! :3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! These chapters are pre-written. Unless I say otherwise. :) Well, I really feel tired cause it's Monday and then I had a band competition on Saturday. And I spent all day yesterday walking around. #band kid probs So I feel like stabbing a bitch. Please excuse my extreme violence. And I'm sounding really formal. That's what happens when I'm tired.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Kei's evening went very nicely. She and Kizashi enjoyed a very expensive meal, then went and hung out at his house. They watched a few movies Kei fell asleep. Kizashi, being the respectable and kind boy that he is, carried her home (His house was close to the Uchiha district).

When he got there, he was greeted by Kei's father, who was displeased that his daughter was consorting with someone outside of the clan. His yelling woke up Kei, who immediately came to her boyfriend's defense. Things got heated, and Kizashi was banned from ever setting foot in the Uchiha district. If he did, the punishment could be as severe as death.

While all of this occurred, another teenage boy wearing an ANBU mask watched from the rooftops. This boy had been watching Masato Uchiha for a while now under orders of the Uchiha clan head. Masato was one of the few privy to the secret Uchiha coup d'etat that was to take place 3 days from now. Masato was suspected of perhaps leaking information to the village. Though the boy on the roof knew otherwise.

Masato was the last person, besides Fugaku Uchiha himself, who would ever leak information about the clan. Masato was so desperate, so power hungry, that he'd do anything. Including betray the village to prove his loyalty to his clan.

The boy on the roof was supposed to be doing what Masato was doing. He was supposed to betray his village for his clan...but that was never going to happen.

The Uchiha clan was never going to get the chance to betray the village because the boy was given a choice, to either join his traitorous clan, or to defend his village.

The boy decided to protect his village rather than his family. He didn't feel much attachment to anyone in the clan anyway. There were only three people that he honestly cared about. His friend, his mother, and...his little brother.

This boy's little brother, who was far too young to understand clan matters. Too young to be killed because of the clan's mistakes. The boy chose, no, he _vowed _to protect his younger sibling months ago. He vowed to protect the little child from the clan. The boy's little brother would never have to face the pain and suffering that the boy had faced. He would never feel the pressures of the horrifying expectations of his parents.

His parents...The boy on the roof closed his eyes as his parents faces swam to the forefront his mind. They understood what they were doing. The boy couldn't protect them, like he could his brother. They were on their own.

The boy heard the wind whoosh, and his eyes shot open as he whipped out his sword to deflect a kunai.

Turning around he to see the Ōkunomizu boy. His name was Kizashi of the famed Ōkunomizu clan, the only survivor besides the few others that the ANBU boy knew of.

"What are you doing here?" Kizashi asked suspiciously.

The boy stood up. Kizashi tensed.

"You should leave." The boy said quietly. Kizashi narrowed. This was an ANBU. What was he doing here? He sounded about as old as himself and Kei.

"What business does the ANBU have here?" Kizashi demanded.

"Why should you care? You're from the dead Ōkunomizu clan."

Kizashi took a step backwards. "How do you-?"

"Your real parents died fleeing from the Mist. You are one of the few survivors of your clan."

Kizashi glared at the ANBU boy. "You-"

"Your parents died right before your eyes that night..." The ANBU boy's voice softened while Kizashi's eyes hardened with anger.

"Shut up. You don't know me." Kizashi snapped, tears springing to his eyes.

"You're right." The ANBU boy said. That poor child, having his entire clan murdered. The ANBU boy could never imagine his clan being killed like that.

However, he'd know soon enough how that felt.

"I don't know you at all." The ANBU boy slowly held up his katana. "That makes it easier to kill you."

Kizashi inhaled sharply. "You wouldn't-"

Suddenly, Kizashi's eyes widened in horror. He looked down at his chest to see the ANBU boy's sword pierced through his chest.

"How did you-" Kizashi began, and then collapsed in pain as the sword was pulled out of his chest.

"You shouldn't have come up here." The ANBU boy said, his voice cold and emotionless. "You should've left well enough alone." Kizashi coughed violently, and curled into a fetal position, his hand grasping hopelessly at the hole in his chest.

"I...Tell Kei that...that I...love..." Kizashi's eyes glazed over, and the hand holding his chest fell limply to ground.

The ANBU boy walked over to Kizashi's body, and put his eyelids down.

"I am sorry." The boy murmured. A single tear fell from behind the mask onto the dead boy. "I am so, so sorry..."

The ANBU boy stood up, wiped the blood on Kizashi's shirt, and put away the katana. The boy breathed deeply, and then doing some hand signs, reappeared in front of his father. The boy went upon his knees.

His father, who was drinking some tea, set down his cup.

"What are you doing here ANBU-san?"

"I found Ōkunomizu, and had to kill him."

The boy's father raised an eyebrow. "Why ever did you do that?" He asked lightly, almost in a laughing manner.

The boy clenched his fists. "He was in the way."

His father picked up the teacup once more, and took a sip. "I warned Masato that this would happen. This is what happens when you let your children run around wild and crazy, like uncultured swine." The man stood up with a sigh.

"You've done well Itachi. Now go give your report to the ANBU."

The boy, Itachi, nodded. "Hai."

Disappearing again, Itachi appeared again on the roof with Kizashi's body. He looked down at the dead boy. How fragile human lives were. How easily they could be snuffed out. It sickened him.

It sickened Itachi even more to know that he was the one who did this.

Kizashi was just bringing home Kei Uchiha, daughter of Masato Uchiha. He wasn't doing anything wrong. Unfortunately, he did get in the way. Itachi planned to leave him alive, let him live, but he had to go up to him. Kizashi just _had _to be curious and go to the roof.

Itachi didn't want to kill him. He didn't want to kill anyone. He just wanted there to be peace in the village. And the only way for peace was for his clan to stop their rebellion.

There were two options for his clan. They could just give up the ridiculous notion of this idea of rebellion or...the option that the Konoha's Head of ANBU and elders decided was, unfortunately, best.

The Uchiha clan would have to be eliminated. Since the Uchiha would obviously never give up the idea of rebelling, they would have to be killed.

Itachi Uchiha was the one who was ordered to do this task. He was the only one who could do it anyway, since his entire clan would easily be able to take out any ANBU team.

Quite a few of the Uchiha were in ANBU too, which complicated matters slightly.

Itachi couldn't fathom why his clan wouldn't just stop. They must know that Konoha suspected their uprising, and had an agent on the inside.

Then again, the Uchiha were arrogant enough to believe that no one knew except for the ones involved. They thought they were oh-so clever and untouchable. They thought that they had the perfect double agent on the inside of the ANBU reporting everything to them.

What they didn't know, was that their double agent was indeed a double agent, only not for them, but for Konoha.

Itachi Uchiha vowed to protect his village to his dying breath. That's what he planned to do. Even if it meant...the extinction of his clan.

But the entire clan wouldn't all die. He would live on...as the last Uchiha. The only man with the Sharingan besides the Copy-Ninja. The Copy Ninja's Sharingan wasn't even his. It was given to him by a Uchiha, who died with honors on the battlefield.

Or so everyone thought...

You see, a few months back Itachi met a man who called himself 'Madara'. However, that couldn't be possible since Madara had been dead for a long while now.

It seemed much more likely that this was Obito Uchiha. How he would've survived, Itachi didn't know. He read the report. Half of Obito's body was crushed under a boulder. Kakashi Hatake and another girl left him. They watched him die. The three of them were surrounded by Stone ANBU. It would've been impossible for Obito to escape, especially with half of his body crushed.

However far-fetched this seemed, this explanation seemed much more likely than the mysterious man being Madara Uchiha. So Itachi was more inclined to believe that this mystery man was Obito.

Anyways, 'Madara' offered to help Itachi with the impossible task of eliminating his clan. 'Madara' would take out the southern part of the district, while Itachi would take out the northern half. The northern half being where his parents and his brother lived.

Perhaps it was better this way. Maybe it was better that he killed his parents and brother rather than this nameless rogue ninja who had the Sharingan.

How this could be better? Him killing his parents? And Sasuke? Did he want to prove a point to the other clans? Did he need to prove himself to the ANBU, showing his prowess? Why...?

Sasuke...

Itachi breathed, and then did the hand-signs to appear outside of his house again. He watched through his cat mask, his little brother playing with toys, alone in the garden.

How could he ever lay a hand on Sasuke? His little brother? Sasuke didn't deserve a brother like Itachi. Itachi's hands were covered in the blood of the many that he'd killed as an ANBU and as an agent for the Uchiha and Konoha.

All of this lying and double-crossing was taking a great mental and emotional toll on him. He could barely bring himself to get out of bed in the morning because the emotions of guilt ate at his heart and soul.

He had to kill his clan in 3 days. He had only days to prepare himself...to take the lives of his parents and Sasuke.

This pain...this guilt. Itachi could barely breathe from it.

He grabbed at his chest, and tried to grab his heart to stop the pain. Tears fell again from behind his mask, as he watched his innocent brother play.

This had been happening a lot in the last few weeks. The guilt would eat away at him, and he'd feel the full blow of the pain.

He hated to imagine what would happen when the pain finally caught up to him.

Wiping his eyes, Itachi reappeared in the council room. The old bats were sipping tea like his father was, giving Itachi the unusual feeling of deja vu. His face was hid behind a newspaper, while she read a book.

"Mitokado-sama, Utatane-sama, I am here for my daily report on the mission." Itachi said tonelessly.

"Proceed, Cat." Koharu said without looking up from her book.

"They are still continuing on with their plan. They show no signs of stopping for anything or anyone." Itachi paused. "A shinobi interfered with my mission."

They both exchanged quick looks, and looked at Itachi.

"What happened to him?"

"He was eliminated."

Silence fell between the three. Finally, Koharu spoke again. "Who was it?"

"Kizashi Ōkunomizu." Itachi replied trying to ignore the guilt that was again eating at him.

Homura raised an eyebrow. "What was he doing in the district?"

"He was courting Kei Uchiha."

She sighed. "Poor child..."

Itachi didn't know if she was talking about Kei, Kizashi, or himself.

"Would you like me to continue with surveillance?" Itachi asked.

Homura shook his head. "No. That's enough for now. I think that's all we need." He then set down his paper and tea, then stood up. Walking to the window, he looked out over Konoha.

"Cat...Itachi."

Itachi stiffened. "Mitokado-sama?"

"I...am so sorry. For you. For your clan...I am regretful that this is the only way." Homura's voice rang with false pity.

Itachi said nothing.

"You don't have to do this Itachi. You could stay away and let the other ANBU handle it." Koharu interrupted. Her voice also sounded mocking and cold.

"With all due respect Mitokado-sama, Utatane-sama, but that would be an act of cowardice. To let someone else handle my family. It would be humiliating for me. I could never live with myself if I stood by and let my family be killed by another."

"But can _you_ bear killing your family?"

Itachi grit his teeth. The guilt was starting to hurt him. He was going to break down in a moment.

"Mitokado-sama, Utatane-sama that is all on my report."

"You are dismissed." Koharu said. Itachi's last look at the two was of the both of them staring coldly and blankly at him. In that single moment, Itachi was very grateful for his mask.

Itachi did a few hand seals, and reappeared in the ANBU locker room where he quickly changed his clothes, then left the headquarters and took off across the rooftops towards the woods.

Itachi stopped in the familiar clearing where flowers bloomed. He found this place when he was seven, when he had ran away from home because his father had yelled at him for something small and stupid that Itachi couldn't remember.

He stopped, and sat in the little field. The tree branches overhead concealed the beautiful flowers from anyone who might be jumping through the trees above. Sunlight would stream through the smallest openings in the bright green leaves.

Itachi fell to his knees and began to hyperventilate.

No one would think that the great prodigy Itachi Uchiha would ever have anxiety issues. But with what he was about to do in 72 hours...

Could he do it? How could he bear the pain of having to kill his family?

How could he?

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**There ya go. Chapter 2. Boom. And you finally have Itachi! :3333**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I hope life has been treating you well! :) I've had a fairly good week! And I forgot to mention that updates will be on Sundays, sometime during the day.**

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Back in the Uchiha district, Fugaku Uchiha sat in his office, content with his life. Today was a good day.

He was the one who was orchestrating this entire 'uprising' ordeal, and needless to say, everything was falling into place almost perfectly.

The ridiculous Konoha elders had no idea what was happening right under their wrinkled noses. Fugaku had Itachi acting as the double agent for the clan. Itachi, who also had no idea what exactly he was partaking in. Fugaku obviously didn't tell his eldest son everything about the plan.

The most he told his son was that he planned to overthrow the Hokage. However, his plan was much more elaborate and intricate than he on.

One couldn't just take over Konoha, and not expect the neighboring villages to do something. Sure, they weren't on the best of terms, but if it came down to it, Fugaku would not risk losing everything just because he didn't plan everything properly.

Basically, after taking down the Hokage, he planned to take out the other kages.

How exactly would one do this extremely complicated endeavor? Well, allow me to enlighten you on this brilliant plan-

No, there's no time for that. One cannot bask in glory until the mission has been properly completed.

Fugaku sipped his tea, then breathed deeply.

He shouldn't let his pride get away from him. Because then, in his arrogance and pride, something would go disastrously wrong. And Fugaku wasn't in the mood for anything to go wrong.

No, instead everything would continue on flawlessly. In merely days, the Uchiha uprising would begin, and Konoha would see what they'd done to themselves. They would no longer be able to keep the Uchiha in the dark, because the Uchiha would be ruling the village.

And eventually, they'd be running the world.

Fugaku allowed a small smile to grace his scowling features.

Yes, today was a good day.

* * *

Itachi dug his nails into his sides tightly enough to remind him of reality and his duties to Konoha.

He bit the inside of cheeks, letting the pain drag his tortured mind back to the forest where he was.

Ha...look at him. The Uchiha prodigy, reduced to a dribbling pile of sadness and salty tears of pain. If his mother and father were here, what would they say to him?

Itachi breathed in deeply, calming his heart-rate.

No one would ever suspect that the great Itachi Uchiha would have panic attacks. But he did. He was human too. He could feel pain and sadness just like any other broken soul.

Being a prodigy wasn't all what everyone made it out to be. Yes, perhaps it was fun...in the beginning. Then when he graduated, he began to feel the brunt of the ridicule and fear that his fellow clansmen felt from most everyone in the village.

Taking other deep breath, Itachi stood up. Wiping away the rest of his tears, he looked up to the sun through the trees.

When Itachi was younger, maybe 3 or so, his mother would tell him a story about the sun and the moon.

Long ago, the sun had two sons (How ironic...) with his wife, the moon. The Sun and Moon were the King and Queen of the world and rather than lighting up the Earth, they selfishly kept their light for themselves. So people had to light up their cities, houses, and towns with candles.

One day, someone kidnapped the youngest brother. The oldest brother went to the Sun and Moon for help. They both declined. The oldest brother argued trying to get them to do _something _helpful. So the Sun told the oldest brother that if he brought back his sibling, the Sun and Moon would shine as a light for any other missing people. The Sun would shine for half of the day, and the Moon would shine for the other half. The older brother agreed, and went to save his sibling.

The oldest brother set off on a journey. The older brother spent years trying to find the younger brother until one day, he came across the younger brother and his kidnapper.

The kidnapper was an ugly troll, who was the ugliest and meanest of all the trolls. In fact, this troll was the Troll King.

The oldest brother knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat the Troll King by attacking him. No, he would have to be clever about this.

So the oldest brother devised a crafty plan.

The oldest brother disguised himself in mud and twigs, and tied branches to himself to look larger. Then he asked some bees to aid him. The bees said yes.

When the people of the world began to extinguish their candles, the oldest brother took the chance to jump into the clearing. The Troll King, who had been expecting the brother, turned to him, but stopped when he saw that it was not the brother.

It was a large monster, covered in mud, twigs, and leaves. It was buzzing extremely loud. The Troll King had never heard anything like it and was frightened. So the Troll King ran, abandoning his prisoner.

The older brother then took off his disguise and brought his brother home to the Sun and Moon. As the Sun and Moon promised, for the older brother's bravery and courage of going on the mission and returning with the younger brother, they both began to share their light with the rest of the world.

It was a simple and easy story. One that Itachi liked very much. He liked to imagine that he was the older brother in the story, constantly watching over his younger brother and ensuring that nothing bad ever happened to him.

Perhaps why Itachi enjoyed this story so much was because he always aspired to be the older brother in the story. A brave and courageous older sibling to look up to and try to be like.

Itachi hoped Sasuke looked up to him. He really tried to be the best big brother that Sasuke ever had.

Thinking of that story calming Itachi's frayed nerves and scatter-brained thoughts. Gathering chakra to his feet, Itachi jumped away through the trees to go to his house.

He was done with ANBU for today. He'd had enough murder for now. If he killed anyone else, he might just snap.

In no time at all, Itachi reached his home, and immediately set down in the garden closest to his room. Hopefully he wouldn't run into his father. It would kill him now if his father said or did anything.

His father...Itachi clenched his fists. The mere thought of his father sickened him. How could he stand to be so cold and evil? How could he stand to kill people like he did in cold blood?

"Nii-san!" A little boy's voice cried from behind Itachi.

He turned to see his little brother, Sasuke, running towards him.

"Hello Sasuke." Itachi said with a gentle smile. His poor, poor innocent brother...

"Nii-san! Guess what they taught us in school today?!" He nearly yelled.

'What did they teach you?"

"They taught us about the history of Konoha!" He said exuberantly.

Itachi's smile almost faltered.

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm!" Sasuke nodded, his hair bouncing up and down. "We learned all about how our village was founded by Hashirama Senju!"

Itachi's smile became slightly more forced at this. He knew that it was not only Hashirama who had founded the village. It was also created by one of their ancestors, Madara Uchiha.

This alone proved the contempt that the former villagers of Konoha had for the Uchiha. Even though one of their ancestors helped build the village to what it was today, Madara's name was only mentioned as the name of the villainous man who fought and lost against the First Hokage in the Valley of the End.

Trivial mess-ups of history like this are what made people hate the Uchiha. What was even to say that these lapses in the school history books were indeed mess-ups and not purposeful hatred towards the clan?

Either way, it could not erase the memories.

Itachi remembered in school, before his genius abilities were revealed, how his classmates quickly turned on him after learning that Madara had tried to hurt the First Hokage. How quickly his small group of friends turned into his worst tormentors.

Of course, none of it lasted long. He had always held back on his true abilities because he had craved friendship from a human that was his age. However, now that he no longer had any friends, there was no reason to hold back anymore.

So he began to ace the tests perfectly. Each and every homework assignment was completed in class. He did whatever possible to gain the attention of the teachers, hoping that they'd see his God-given ability, and move him up a grade.

Eventually, they did, and he learned that those classes were also very simple to understand.

And from there, everything sort of snowballed. He graduated at the age of 7. Merely a year later, he awakened his Sharingan in the middle of a sparring match with his uncle, and mastered it days after. At age 10, he passed the Chunin Exam and, under the orders of father, enrolled as an ANBU half a year later.

He was a 10 and a half year old Chunin, who made it to ANBU. Of course, at first the others were skeptical, and some were downright vicious and quite unwelcoming, but that soon changed after he completed his first mission perfectly. And then his second...and third...then fourth.

Itachi had finally earned his place among people.

Though he had earned his place, he couldn't seem to relate to anyone. No one seemed like they could be a friend. Sure, he was polite and courteous, but he had long ago stopped caring and stopped trying to make close friends.

Until he met Kakashi.

He'd met him on his first mission. They had to observe an alliance between the village and The Land of Woods. If things turned sour, they'd have to kill the group.

Of course, it was a trick, and the team made quick work of the Land of Woods ninja.

Later on, Kakashi praised him on his first perfect mission. Itachi felt proud, but had learned long ago that if you let your pride or emotions show, many people, especially ANBU, would see that as a weakness, and you would be cut down very quickly.

Prideful people were not tolerated in the ANBU. Especially if they were a 10 year old boy.

So instead, Itachi smiled and accepted the compliment easily. Kakashi seemed like a good man. Yet something also felt quite...not right about him.

Kakashi Hatake gave off some sort of vibe that kind of scared Itachi. He radiated a sort of sadness, and anger. Kakashi seemed as if he was always on guard and poised to fight, no matter the situation.

Itachi sensed the emptiness that came with time and death. He held a certain wise air about him, that reminded Itachi of one of his few legitimate friends, Shisui Uchiha.

Shisui was a few years older than him, and quite an accomplished ANBU due to his very useful Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi couldn't really remember when they started talking. (Perhaps the Nara Deer Incident had something to do with it...) It just sort of happened, their friendship.

Shisui was one of the few people that Itachi could trust. He was Itachi's only friend. And he was the only friend that Itachi wanted.

"Nii-san?"

Itachi then realized that Sasuke had been rambling to him for the last few minutes, and he'd just realized that Itachi wasn't paying attention to him.

"Yes Sasuke?" Itachi replied with a smile.

"Are you even listening to me?" Sasuke puffed up his cheeks.

Itachi chuckled gently. "Yes, you were talking about what you learned in school today?"

Sasuke's smile returned, and he nodded. "Hashirama sounds like a really powerful ninja! I want to be as strong as him someday!"

He then pantomimed chopping a person with his tiny hands.

"Hey Nii-san," Sasuke said, his voice strangely serious. "When we were at school, some kids said that my ancestor was evil and mean, and tried to hurt the First Hokage. Is that really true?"

Itachi pursed his lips, and glanced at his younger brother. He had this desperate and innocent light in his eyes, as if praying that Itachi would say it was all a lie. Looking at Sasuke, he couldn't bear to tell him.

"Sasuke." Itachi stopped walking, and Sasuke paused next to him.

"What?"

"Sometimes..." Itachi turned and knelt in front of his brother's innocent eyes. "Sometimes kids say things...mean things. They make stuff sound worse than what it actually is. That's what they were doing now. They were making things sound worse than they really are."

Sasuke frowned slightly. "But did our ancestor really do those things?"

Itachi was about to make some sort of lackluster excuse, when they heard their mother call to them from the kitchen.

"Come and eat, Sasuke, Itachi!" Mikoto's voice rang out across the compound.

"Yay!" Sasuke cheered, then immediately ran off towards the scent of food.

Itachi breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up. Thank god for his mother. She seemed to be able to tell exactly when to stop a conversation, and had been Itachi's savior many times for other conversations.

And thank god for Sasuke's short attention span.

Itachi walked and in no time made it to the kitchen where Sasuke was already gorging himself on the soup and babbling again, and his mother and father were already sitting down. His mother was smiling at Sasuke's story that he was telling, while his father was reading a scroll, his soup untouched.

Just another typical dinner.

"Itachi," Mikoto said as he sat down. "After you eat, you've been requested by the ANBU to report immediately to headquarters." Sasuke dropped his spoon into the bowl, successfully splashing broth everywhere.

"Can I go with Nii-san?!" He asked jumping up excitedly.

Mikoto laughed lightly. "Unfortunately, no. You have to clean your room. It's a pig sty!" She exclaimed.

Sasuke huffed, then sat back down.

"Now finish up you. Then you have to clean your room." Mikoto ordered.

Sasuke groaned. "Please, can I train instead?"

Mikoto opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by Fugaku.

"That's a grand idea Sasuke. Why don't you go do that instead?"

Sasuke stared dumbstruck at his father, who'd hardly ever acknowledge Sasuke's presence, let alone an idea of his.

Sasuke finally snapped out his stupor, and leaped up. "I'm going to train right now Father!" He said, and smiled brightly at Fugaku, who had already disappeared into the scroll once more.

Itachi felt anger bubbling up inside of him. Fugaku neglected Sasuke so much, that Itachi felt as if Sasuke would do anything to gain his attention and approval. If Fugaku asked Sasuke to kill someone, Itachi would bet his Sharingan that he'd do it in a heartbeat.

After Sasuke disappeared, Fugaku immediately set down his scroll, and stared at his eldest son.

"Itachi. I need to speak to you." Fugaku announced, his voice cold and calculating as always.

"Then speak, Father." Itachi spoke without realizing.

"Itachi!" Mikoto gasped. "Do not speak to-!" Fugaku held up his hand, and Mikoto stopped talking, and settled for glaring at her son instead.

"The rise of the new age begins in 3 days. Long ago, our ancestors had a dream, that one day, the Uchiha would be recognized, and rule over the Shinobi world. You have helped achieve this dream of theirs and mine."

Itachi was silent, too busy trying to figure out where this was going to reply.

"However," Fugaku said. "If any one of us strays from the dream, or their faith in it falters for even a second, they are traitors to their clan."

He let those ominous words hang in the air around his son. Itachi was silent again, as he pondered the best way to go about this.

His father suspected that Itachi was betraying the Uchiha and their insanity. Of course he was completely right, but Itachi had to convince him otherwise.

"If there are any traitors to the clan and it's plans, I will personally destroy them."

Fugaku's lips pulled up slightly at the corners. Itachi had said the right thing.

"Good. Out of all of the clan, you are the most powerful Uchiha I have ever encountered...well besides Shisui." Fugaku grabbed the scroll, and continued his reading, thus effectively ending the conversation. Mikoto stood, grabbed the dishes, and began to clean up. Itachi then stood and walked outside, saying nothing to his mother or father.

They said nothing to him either.

He did the proper hand seals, and appeared inside of the ANBU headquarters.

When he arrived, he was greeted by the sight of complete emptiness in the main room. It confused him that no one was there. Was this a trap perhaps?

"Itachi." A deep and familiar voice greeted him. Itachi looked to the front of the room, and spotted Shisui standing there.

"Shisui..." Itachi said cautiously. His voice echoed around the room making it sound as if there were multiple Itachi's speaking.

"I need you to meet me at the place where it began. The place it also ends."

"What?" Itachi asked. "What place?"

"You know where. Quickly. We don't have much time."

"Wait! What do you-?"

Just then, Shisui disappeared. Itachi narrowed his eyes. Was someone listening to their conversation?

Itachi activated his Sharingan, and looked around quickly. If there had been anyone, they were gone now. And what place did Shisui mean?

The place where it ends...

Shisui was right. He knew where it was. And if he was right, then something bad was happening, and Shisui was trying to warn him.

* * *

**Well yes, hello. Hi. Konichiwa. Hola. Whatever you children say these days! Anyways, so yes, I have nothing of importance to say.**

**OH WAIT NARUHINA AND SASUSaku arE canOn. HELL YESSSSSSS :))))) I HAVE SHIPPED THEm FRO SO LONGGG! AND NOW THEY HAPPENEd! AND SHIKATEMA! AND SAIINO! AND MY OTPSSSSS! YAASSSSSS BITCCCHHHHEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**

**Sorry. My inner fangirl couldn't resist.**

**Edit 2: Lol, this was being written as the last chapter came out... R&amp;R **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! I hope your day is going nicely! For me, everything seems to be in order, and life is good! :) If you're having a bad day, I hope it gets better darling! :)**

* * *

Itachi appeared at The Cliff. "The Cliff" being the place where eight-year-old Shisui and Itachi met. This little incident became known as the Nara Deer Incident between the two.

It was an honest and complete accident, what had happened. Though of course, it left a lasting impression on both boys...

Itachi had just had his 6th birthday, and had decided to spend his day exploring the woodland area outside of the village. Unluckily, Itachi had unknowingly stumbled into the Nara woods.

Of course, Itachi had been told of many stories of trespassers, thieves, murderers, and many other unfortunate souls who would wander into the forest, and never return to see the light of day.

Obviously he never thought that he'd be one of those people.

His parents always warned him about entering the woods without the Nara's permission. They told him of the people who didn't heed this warning, and went into the woods.

Now though, as he wandered through the dark woods as a child, he realized he should've listened to his parents. A very large herd of deer had been following him for quite some time. Whether they were observing him, or waiting to kill him, Itachi had yet to find out.

Maybe the animals sensed that he really didn't mean to end up here. Maybe they sensed that he never meant to explore these lands, and rather than killing him, they were in fact herding him along, away from their sacred forest.

Whatever their intentions, Itachi didn't want to know.

As he ran in fear from the animals, he failed to notice the faint sound of water in the background which was beginning to grow louder and louder.

Suddenly, he ran face-first into a person.

Itachi fell unceremoniously onto the dirt. Looking up at the person, for a second, he was worried that it was a Nara, and that he was going to get in huge trouble.

The person turned around, and looked at the small boy on the ground at their feet.

The mystery person was in a hurry to get out of here. He was normally very laid-back, and hardly ever caused mischief, yet today, for some unknown reason, his classmates had irked him enough where he decided to do something very dangerous and very stupid.

His classmates were taunting him viciously, saying that he wouldn't accomplish anything ever. Calling him stupid, and dumb. Finally, he said that he'd go into the Nara forest and take one of the deer's antlers.

Of course, now he was questioning why he'd ever let their childish insults get to his head.

He'd never let their words get to his head before. So why now?

Well, the past is in the past, and he was currently in the present. He needed to keep on task or else he'd probably get impaled by the sharp antlers of the deer. Yes, it would be quite embarrassing to go back to his classmates empty-handed, but he'd rather be empty-handed than to have no hands at all...or arms...or legs...or a head...

Obviously, he was prepared to fight off an army of deer. He did _not _expect a snot-nosed little kid to run into him.

Turning around, he was surprised to find that the little boy didn't look afraid.

Well, he did. But not afraid of the deer...rather the boy looked afraid of _him_.

"What in Kami's name are you doing here?!" He snapped. The boy narrowed his eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing." The little child shot back. He blinked in surprise.

The little midget child had sass.

"Long story." He replied. The little boy continued to stare into his eyes. It was slightly unnerving.

He over the little boy's shoulder as he asked, "Do you know the way out of here?"

The boy shook his head. "Nope. I guess you don't either?"

He shook his head.

"Great." The little boy huffed, then suddenly held out his small hand. "My name is Itachi. Who are you?"

He stared at the boy's hand for a moment, then hesitantly shook it. Was this a genjutsu? What the hell was a child doing in the Nara forest? And why wasn't he already dead?

"I'm Shisui."

Itachi smiled at Shisui.

"I know you. You're from the Uchiha clan right?"

Shisui narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Something seemed unusual...

"How'd you know?"

"I've seen you around the district before."

"You've seen me around the district? Wait...Do I know you?" Shisui asked. Itachi winked at him.

"You should."

"Who-?"

Just then, the bushes rustled, and the herd that had been following Itachi burst through the undergrowth.

"Dammit." Shisui mumbled. He needed an antler, but couldn't kill any of the deer. If he did, the Nara would find out via deer, and then a war between the Uchiha and Nara would ensue.

All because he killed some dumb deer.

He never meant to be trailed by wild animals like he was some scared bunny rabbit. He just wanted to prove his snarky classmates wrong.

He heard a whoosh a breath pass from Itachi's lips.

Escaping was out of the question since they were backed against a cliff. Jumping off of the cliff was out since there was a raging river at the bottom of the cliff, not to mention the monstrous waterfall that would make it nearly impossible to escape the river without being dashed against sharp rocks and trees. Also, the deer were blocking their path in front of them. So they'd have to fight their way through.

"Alright, can you fight?" Shisui asked.

Itachi looked at him confused. "Of course I can. Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Well, any normal kid normally is about as useful as a sack of potatoes in a battle."

"A sack of potatoes could be useful."

"No. They couldn't."

"Yes they could!"

The deer inched closer to the boys, slowly surrounding them and cutting off every mean of escape.

"Why are we even having this discussion?" Shisui said exasperatedly.

"You're the one who brought up potatoes in the first place. You said they aren't useful."

"I didn't say that! I said a kid is normally about as useful as a sack of potato-!"

"Exactly. Which means that I'm _very _useful."

That was when, what Shisui assumed was the leader of the herd, stepped forward. It's eyes were blank, empty, and completely devoid of all emotion. It's eyes reminded Shisui of his dead brother-

No. You're not allowed to think about that. Not now. Not ever.

Shisui took a deep, calming breath and stepped forward to face off with the deer.

Perhaps, this entire situation would seem comical if the deer were not indeed the reincarnations of the previously dead Nara clan members.

This tidbit of information was a closely guarded secret of the clan for centuries. The only reason Shisui knew about it was because he happened to know a Nara clan member who had very loose lips...Especially after getting drunk off of Shisui's father's supply of alcohol.

The incarnations were exactly the same as they'd been when they were living humans. Same sense of purpose, intelligence, and general aura of knowledge.

Which basically meant that Shisui and his new friend were colossally dead.

"Um...Shisui?" Itachi asked, eyeing the deer off to his left warily. "What are you going to to do?"

The deer and Shisui were locked in a silent battle of wills. If the deer won, they would die, and then their deaths would be mourned, yet they'd have brought shame upon their clan. If Shisui won...

Well, they probably still have to fight for their lives. But they'd still have a much better chance of survival.

Suddenly, the deer did the most unexpected thing ever.

It bent it's knee and bowed.

The first thought to go through Shisui's panicked mind was, 'What the hell?'

The deer of the Nara forest guarded it with hoof and antler. Any uninvited trespassers were immediately hunted down by the large herd and slaughtered, sometimes brutally.

Right now, his mind was having trouble processing what was going on. The only reason they'd show any form of compassion towards them was if a Nara member had granted them access.

Which neither boys received any sort of permission, so what the hell?

"Uh..." Shisui meant to bravely ask what was happening, however he couldn't form the words. They seemed to be getting trapped in his throat.

"What...is going on?" He looked around at the rest of the herd. They had surrounded the boys, and were all bowing, same as their leader.

"I think they are trying to tell us something." Itachi's voice came from behind him.

"What makes you think that?"

"Look."

Shisui turned around to see two deer oddly connected together by their antlers. For a moment, he crazily thought that the deer were stuck. No, if they had gotten stuck together, the Nara would've helped them.

"Are they...holding a set of antlers?" Itachi asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Shisui then realized, indeed, that they were holding a set of antlers and presenting it to them.

Why though?

"I believe they are." Shisui responded, then took a cautious step forward.

"Careful." Itachi warned. Shisui almost laughed. A 6 year-old was telling 8 year-old to be careful.

He stepped forward, and slowly approached the deer holding the antlers. Shisui watched the deer, to see if they would stand up and attack. However, they did not move at all.

So, when Shisui was now directly in front of the deer, and within hoof-whacking distance, he ever so slowly reached out to take the antlers from the deer.

The herd made no move to stop him. They continued to kneel, silently and statuesque.

Shisui, wrapped his hand around the base of the antlers, and then yanked them away and jumped back to his former place next to Itachi.

"Why did they give us antlers?" Itachi asked.

Shisui didn't answer. He continued to watch the herd for any signs of aggression. Yet they made no act of anger towards the two boys.

Suddenly, the herd simultaneously began to retreat from the cliff, leaving a confused Shisui, and _very _confused Itachi.

"What was that about? Why didn't they try to attack us?" Itachi asked. Shisui looked at the antlers in his hands, and decided not to question their strange and unusually good stroke of luck.

Rather, he turned to little Itachi, and grabbing him, did the hand seals to reappear near the Uchiha district.

"Hey!" Itachi protested. Shisui released him, still staring at the antlers.

"Don't grab me like that!" He huffed, then realized that Shisui wasn't listening to him. So he decided to inspect Shisui's new trophy instead.

"Wow...it looks so cool!" He said with a smile.

"Yea...It does." Shisui mumbled, stroking the smooth pearl-like antlers.

"What are you going to do with it?"

Shisui was quiet, thinking of his peers at the school.

To hell with trying to impress them.

"Here." Shisui held out the antlers to Itachi, who's eyes widened to a extreme amount.

"Really? You're giving them to me?!" He said gleefully. Shisui smiled.

Itachi's child-like innocent and pure happiness was much better to see than his classmates smug grins.

"I don't need it. They're yours, little guy."

"I'm not little! Don't call me little guy!" Itachi snapped immediately. Shisui chuckled, and held out his hand.

"Do you want to be friends?" He asked. Itachi looked at Shisui's outstretched hand, then to his smiling face.

" 'Cause honestly, you're pretty cool for a 6 year-old-_Hey_!" Shisui was interrupted by little Itachi hugging him tightly.

"Of course I'll be your friend!"

Shisui rolled his eyes at Itachi's childishness, but couldn't help but admire the little kid for his obvious strength and bravery.

Itachi couldn't believe it. He'd made a friend who actually_ liked_ him...

* * *

Itachi shook his head to clear it of the memory. It was a slightly happy, slightly sad memory. It was slightly happy because he met Shisui and they became friends, but slightly sad because he remembered the ever-constant feeling of loneliness, and then the joy of making a friend.

That seemed so long ago. It seemed like a million years had passed since that time of purity and child-like innocence.

Now, Itachi knew far too much to be considered anything close to a child. He could never regain that beautiful devotion and love for the world and everything in it.

Especially now that he knew what the world truly was.

Itachi finally stopped on the cliff by the waterfall in the Nara woods. The deer were no where in sight, and neither was Shisui.

Itachi stood there silently, until he heard someone behind him. He whipped around to see Shisui...covering his right eye, which was profusely dripping with blood.

"Shisui-san." He breathed. "What happened?"

"I apologize Itachi-kun, but there is little time to explain."

"Explain what? You don't have to explain anything, we just need to get you help-"

"No." Shisui interrupted. "I told you, there's no time."

Shisui could see that Itachi's eyes reflected the same pain that existed in his own dark eyes. That pain of realizing something terrible was going to happen, and there was nothing that could be done.

"Shisui-san, what happened to your eye?"

"Danzo-sama." Shisui replied evenly. Itachi's eyes narrowed. "When I tried to stop the coup d'etat using the Kotoamatsukami, Danzo stole my right eye. He doesn't trust me...and rightfully so." Shisui let out a pained chuckle at his own words. Itachi continued to stand silently, listening to Shisui.

"So I decided to protect the village in my own way. He'll probably try to get my left eye as well...I'll give it to you before that happens." There was a sickening wet pop, as Shisui pulled out his left eye.

Itachi couldn't move.

"You're my best friend...the only one I can ask this. Please protect the village, and the Uchiha name." Shisui said, a smile breaking his stoic expression as he held out his left eye to Itachi.

Itachi stared at Shisui's closed hand, then reluctantly took the eye from his hand.

"Shisui..."

"You'll need to leave a note for the clan letting them know that I am dead. Preferably something heroic sounding." Shisui said dryly.

"Wait, you're-?"

"Yes, you know what has to be done." Shisui took a blind step backwards towards the edge of the cliff.

"No..."

"It has to be this way, Itachi. Protect the clan. Protect the Uchiha." Shisui took a deep breath. The blood from his eyes dripping over his lips and down his cheeks.

"I will." He replied.

Suddenly, Shisui took a few steps back, and with a sad faraway smile on his face, plummeted over the edge of the cliff before Itachi could tell him to stop or to rethink things.

Instead, he ran over and managed to catch the last glimpse of his friend as he disappeared in the river forever.

So this is what Shisui wanted him for...

Itachi could feel another panic attack coming on, and hurriedly turned away from the cliff and it's dark waters, and his dead friend. So he began to take deep breaths once again, and tried to not let this get to his head. He had a mission to carry out.

And he had to carry out Shisui's dying words as well.

Itachi finally managed to get a hold of his emotions. Taking another breath, he managed to clear his head with only one thought...

_'Protect the Uchiha.'_

* * *

**Yay. I finished. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so here's another chapter. I'm really tired. Too tired to give some lengthy and in-depth introduction about life and it's retarded ways and means...**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Danzo was very angry.

He managed to let Shisui Uchiha escape from his clutches. Along with his left eye...

Well, beggars can't be choosers. And, unfortunately, Danzo was a chooser at this point. He _did _manage to take Shisui's right eye however, so perhaps it wasn't a complete loss.

Yet the escape of Shisui meant that the Uchiha were probably going to be forewarned of Danzo's attempts to steal the Sharingan. Which meant that stealing another complete set of the Sharingan would get a lot harder. And that was saying something since it was hard enough to get one Sharingan, let alone a complete set of them.

Danzo sat back in his chair with a long sigh.

He had his work cut out for him. Honestly, was he the only one concerned with Shisui's dependability?

He was _apart of the clan _for Kami's sake! What's to say he wouldn't just turn against the village for his own selfish gain?! The same thing went for that Itachi kid as well! He was a clan member. Danzo didn't think he should be trusted with the task of spying. They should've just killed off the clan when they had to chance, lie Danzo had suggested in the first place!

Ah well... The clan would be put to a stop somehow. He'd find a way...

He always did.

* * *

Itachi somehow ended up back in the district, in the middle of the street, alone and barely grasping on to his sanity.

Was life even worth it anymore? How could it be, when even Shisui...brave and courageous Shisui, jumped from a cliff to his death?

_Protect the Uchiha..._

Yes...Itachi had to protect the Uchiha. Until his dying breath, he planned to do so.

He would protect the clan in Shisui's place.

No matter what life threw at him. He'd push through, and save them. He'd save the clan. He'd save the village. He'd save his parents. He'd save Sasuke too-

"Hey!"

Itachi realized that he'd just ran into someone, and they'd fallen down. Someone short and black-haired and familiar looking...

Of course. It was Masato Uchiha's daughter. The girl whose boyfriend Itachi had to kill.

His thoughts froze.

Out of all the people to run into, it was just his luck..._honestly-_

"Are you even listening to me?!" The girl snapped.

What was her name again?

"No," He replied shortly. "I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. I apologize." Itachi said and helped her up. He then brushed past her.

"Really? Like 'sorry' is going to fix this!" She screeched gesturing around, and dusting off her clothes simultaneously.

"Fix what?" He asked, turning around.

"My grocery bag damn you!" She snapped. Itachi looked at the ground, where multiple fruits and vegetables were rolling wildly away. Some were completely squashed from the fall.

"Oh. My apologies. Let me help you retrieve them." Itachi bent down, and began to pick up the fruits that were escaping.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, then she too bent down and began to pick up the food.

Finally managing to pick up everything (Excluding the destroyed ones.), and they stood up and faced each other.

"I'm sorry again." Itachi said, then finally smiled gently.

The girl glared at him, then stuck out her hand. "I'm Kei."

Ah, that was it!

Itachi took her hand, and shook it. "I am Itachi."

Kei's eyes widened slightly at his name. He could only assume that she must've heard of him before.

"I've heard of you before."

Of course.

"Most everyone has." He replied, letting go of her hand.

"Are you really in the ANBU?"

He gave her a sideways glance. "Where did you hear that?"

Kei shrugged. "I overhear things from my dad sometimes."

"Do you mean that you eavesdrop on him?"

"No!" Kei snapped, then blushed. "Well, yea. Kind of."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Kind of. How exactly do you 'kind of' eavesdrop?"

"I...well. Ah, never mind." She mumbled.

Itachi and Kei stood there for another moment before Kei spoke again. "Well, I should get going. Because I really need to get these tomatoes and vegetables home so Mom can make dinner."

"Right, I'll walk you there."

"Wait, what?" Kei looked at Itachi. "I'm fine. Seriously."

"I'll walk you home as compensation for knocking everything out of your hands."

"Please, I'm fine."

"I insist."

Kei pursed her lips at the boy in front of her. She could swear she's seen him before now... Looking at Itachi gave her a strange sense of deja vu.

"Fine. Let's get going then. I refuse to get yelled at because of your clumsiness and your daydreaming."

"I wasn't daydreaming." Itachi replied.

They started to walk through the district.

"What were you doing then, running into me like you did?"

"I was...thinking."

"That's daydreaming."

"Daydreaming is a pleasant visionary and usually wishful creation of the imagination made by the human mind whenever it finds itself distressed, unhappy, or bored."

Kei blinked. "That's what you were doing. You were...doing whatever you just said."

"No. I was not thinking pleasant thoughts by any means..."

"Then what _were _you thinking about then?"

Itachi looked to the sky. The sunset was very red...the color of blood. A sign that a great tragedy was about to pass.

Of course, not many people would know that this tragedy was the death of the Uchiha, let alone would they even realize that this sunset held much meaning.

"I...was thinking of the future." Itachi finally replied.

Kei frowned. "The future...I try not to think about it."

Itachi glanced at her. "Why not?"

Kei sighed. "My father doesn't want my boyfriend, Kizashi, and I to be together. And I'm pretty sure he was planning to ask for my hand in marriage when he turned 18."

Itachi's blood ran cold, and he looked away from Kei.

They wouldn't ever get married. Not now, not ever. Especially not since Kizashi was currently being taken away by some of the ANBU to hide his cold, dead body.

And not since Kei would die with the rest of the clan.

"Itachi?" Kei asked. "Are you daydreaming again?"

Itachi breathed deeply. If he continued to think about it, he'd probably self-induce a panic attack. Now was not the time for that.

"The future is nothing to daydream about. If you think about it, you'll get all stressed out." Kei said. "Every time I think about the future, I get really nervous and scared. What if Kizashi and me break up? What if we never get married? Will I have to marry someone else in the clan? Will my father control me for the rest of my short life? Will the clan continue with their ridiculous dream of conquering the world?"

Itachi was silent. He had no answer, because those were some of the same questions that he asked himself.

"Either way," Kei continued with a soft sigh. "I find that thinking about the future causes more stress than relief."

"That's true, however one must consider what possibilities the future may bring. The only way to do this is to think and ponder every possible choice, and what future that choice may lead to."

"Whoa..." Kei said. "That's deep. Are you some sort of closet philosopher?"

Itachi allowed a small smile onto his face.

"Maybe...When you put it like that, I think I am."

Kei smiled back at him, and for a second, she forgot her grudge against him knocking her over. Instead, she basked in their momentary kinship.

"So you do actually like me." Itachi said.

Kei rolled her eyes. "I like you yes, but I'm still angry about how you knocked me and my food over."

"I said I was sorry."

"Well, I think you proved you are by walking with me."

Kei paused then turned to Itachi. "Thank you, again, for helping me out...though you are the one that caused this in the first place." They were outside of Kei's large house.

Itachi knew this because he recognized the roof that he'd hide on top of for hours on end, spying on Masato's family. He'd eventually come to memorize every little tiny detail about the roof. Every scratch, every broken tile, everything...

"Of course. It was the least I could do." Itachi inclined his head to Kei. "Farewell, Kei-san." Turning around, he began to walk away.

"Hold it!" Kei said, forcing Itachi to a stop.

"Yes?" He asked.

Suddenly, a bright red object was soaring through the air towards him. Itachi reached out and caught it.

It was a tomato.

"Think of it as compensation for walking me home, alright?" She called to him, then disappeared inside before he could argue.

He stared at the object in his hands. He never really liked tomatoes... Oh well.

He performed a few hand signs (which was quite a feat considering he was holding a tomato), then appeared outside his bedroom door.

Only to see Sasuke in his room, playing with his old toys.

"Oh!" Sasuke cried, noticing his brother's sudden appearance. "Hello Nii-san!"

"Hello Sasuke."

"Um..." Sasuke looked at the pile of dinosaurs behind him and made an attempt to slyly move in front of the mess. "I was just cleaning up, I swear-"

"It's okay Sasuke." Itachi interrupted his brother's scared ramblings.

"Um...I think I heard mother calling me!" Sasuke said, then tried to slip past Itachi. He stopped his little brother by grabbing and holding him.

"Hold on Sasuke. I want to give you something."

Sasuke stopped struggling. "What?"

Itachi released him, and opened his hand where the tomato was, miraculously, not bruised from Sasuke's struggles.

Sasuke made a face.

Itachi laughed. "Just take it." He then tossed it to Sasuke, who just barely caught it. "And get out of my room please, Sasuke."

Sasuke quickly dashed out of his brother's room and headed off to his own bedroom. In his hand, he still held the tomato from earlier.

He'd never actually _tried _a tomato before. But it was a vegetable so it must taste terrible, right?

Sasuke cautiously took a bite. It honestly didn't taste half bad...

He actually really likes tomatoes.

* * *

Itachi sat next to Sasuke on the stairs leading to their veranda on the backyard. They'd been having a nice conversation when there was a pounding at the front door.

"Itachi Uchiha! Come out!" A voice yelled, and another round of pounding began.

Itachi smiled at Sasuke, then stood up and went to the door. He already had a hunch what they wanted...

He'd have to play his part well.

Itachi opened the door to reveal three of the more respected Uchiha in the Police Force.

"Hello. What can I help you three with?" Itachi asked politely.

"Do you happen to know of the whereabouts of Shisui Uchiha?" The guy in the front, whose name Itachi thought might've been Goro, asked stiffly.

"No unfortunately...Why, if I might ask?"

"He wasn't present for last night's meeting and we have reason to believe that he was murdered." The second guy, Isamu, said glaring at Itachi.

"I see...I haven't met with him recently. That is sad to hear." Itachi said, putting on a look of polite remorse and sorrow.

"So we," Goro continued. "The Police Force have decided to investigate this incident fully."

"An investigation?" Itachi said in surprise, slightly narrowing his eyes. They definitely suspected him. This was not good...

Isamu riffled through his front pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. On it, it read:

_I'm tired of the duties...  
__there is no future for the Uchiha...  
__And for me...  
__I cannot walk out the "path" any further..._

Itachi was silent as he read the little paper. He recalled writing this in Shisui's handwriting, to hide his death. However, he did not let any sign of recognition pass over his features.

_'Was that heroic enough words for you Shisui...?' _Itachi thought sadly.

"He was feared as Shisui of the Mirage, and one of the most talented Uchiha. He was someone who'd do any mission for the clan." Isamu said.

"I doubt a man like him would leave something like this behind and die." Goro said, staring directly at Itachi.

Itachi stared back. He was silent for a moment, to consider his words, then spoke. "It's not wise to judge others by your preconceptions and their appearances."

The three men seemed to take this as an adequate answer, and began to walk away.

"Why don't you be more direct?" Itachi said to their retreating backs, crumpling the paper in his hand.

They stopped, and turned to look at him.

"So, are you suspicious of me?"

"Yes, brat!" Goro snarled, his Sharingan activating.

"Listen Itachi, if you betray the clan, you won't go unpunished." Isamu said.

Suddenly, the three men were thrown backwards, as Itachi almost easily thrashed them about. He was slightly bent over staring at the ground, the men laying there groaning and wincing in pain.

"As I've said just now, _don't judge others,_" Itachi said ominously. Itachi had never felt rage such as this. It angered him to no end that they'd ever accuse of murdering his best friend. "Simply by your preconceived conceptions, and judgments of their appearance."

"You assumed that I am patient," He stated, standing up and throwing a kunai at the Uchiha crest. "And therefore you underestimate me. You fail to measure your own capacity, and then fail to see the depth of mine." He finished, anger evident in his voice.

Suddenly, Itachi was kicked into the stone wall by his father.

"Itachi! What the hell are you doing?" He said, glaring at his son. "Apologize. Now!" He roared. The three men had picked themselves off of the ground, and were staring at Itachi, hatred evident in their cold stares.

Itachi moved to his hands and knees, and begged their forgiveness.

"Please...pardon my actions. I was out of line to behave as I did."

It was silent as the five stayed like this, four standing and one kneeling, then finally the three policemen began to walk away. Fugaku also began to walk back towards the door.

"Brat." Goro spat at Itachi as he walked by the still crouching boy.

From the shadows, Sasuke watched the entire thing. He also saw the Mangekyou whirl to life as his older brother glared at the retreating figures of the cowards who called themselves "men".

* * *

**I wanted to find a nice easy place to end this. So until next time...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello. Here's the (not) highly anticipated chapter 6 of (I don't have a name yet as I pre-write this. So yes.) Anywho, enjoy.**

* * *

"What do you think?"

Mikoto frowned at her husband. "I think you're far too hard on your children."

"They can handle it." Fugaku replied gruffly.

"Itachi may be able to, but Sasuke cannot." Fugaku stood up from the table and moved to stand next to his wife who was washing dishes at the sink. "He's trying his hardest to meet your near impossible standards. You seem to be forgetting that Sasuke is not Itachi!" Mikoto snapped, glaring at Fugaku.

"Listen." He said. "I want my children to be the best. Itachi was naturally a genius, and was easily able to pass school. I want Sasuke to do the same."

"But he does not have the same skill set as Itachi! He's just a boy Fugaku! And he's craving your approval and love, the kind of love that only a father can give!"

There was a loud clang as Mikoto accidentally dropped one of the plates. She breathed in shakily and turned around, wiping her wet hands on her apron and crossing her arms.

"I just... I just want...I don't know." She sighed. "And not only that, but your dragging them both into the coup-"

"Silence. I will not tolerate you berating woman!"

"You'll damn well tolerate it! I'm your goddamn wife and you'll listen to what I've got to say!"

Fugaku looked shocked, and was silent as his wife continued in a scary calm voice.

"You're forcing our children to carry on in your place if something were to happen. I hardly approve of this uprising that _you _orchestrated, and the only reason I haven't marched to the Hokage with this information is because Itachi and Sasuke would be put in harm's way! And they are already in enough danger as it is! You've got our 13-year-old son spying on people and threatening them into submission! How many people has he hurt on your word?! 5? 10? 100? When will this wild fantasy of your's end Fugaku?! Have you not put our children in danger enough?!"

Mikoto had moved away from the sink by now, and had her towering husband against the wall.

"And what about me?" She snapped. Tears sprang to her dark eyes. "Would you sacrifice everything...our children, your friends...and me for your plan?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, and looked at the ground to hide her tears.

Fugaku was quiet. Didn't she know he'd thought about this already? Did she not think that he'd spent countless hours sleeping in his study because he'd almost always wake up with nightmares and images of his family being killed brutally? How could she not understand that he too, was afraid of losing everything?

"Yes."

Mikoto looked up.

"I would sacrifice everything if it meant that my clan would be free. We have been oppressed for far too long. This may be our only chance to change what we have for the better." Fugaku grasped Mikoto's arms gently. "We can fix this. We can fix our clan and everything else if we just can control our own fate."

Mikoto looked to the side, the tears rolling faster now.

"Mikoto." He spoke gently. "We'll be free. No one will hate us. We'll be much better rulers than the Kages have been. We'll be fair and kind to everyone. Please..." He leaned closer to his wife, and wiped away the line of tears with his thumb.

"I...I just need some space, okay?" She said quietly, and pulled out of Fugaku's grasp. "Good night, Husband."

"Mikoto please-"

"_I said good night._" She snapped, and continued walking out of the kitchen and into the hall towards their room.

Fugaku sighed. Not many things could make him feel upset, guilty, or sad, but his beautiful wife certainly could. She was the only one who could ever make him feel regret for his actions. He was regretting this coup already because of her. Would he be able to carry on with it?

That was when he heard the yelps of pain from outside, and he went and discovered the Uchiha men Itachi had attacked.

That was also when Fugaku knew he'd carry on with the coup.

* * *

The next morning was the same as always. It was 5:00am, and Itachi was the only one awake in the silent house. Waking up early was the unfortunate part of working in the ANBU.

Today would be another day of pointless missions that Itachi could care less about. Especially because since yesterday was over, that meant that he was one more day closer to The Night. The Night that he organized with "Madara" Uchiha, to stop his clan from their own horrible power.

He had less than 48 hours before he had to slaughter his clan.

With a shudder, Itachi quickly finished getting dressed, and performed a few hand seals to appear outside of the ANBU HQ. Walking through the door, he walked past the front desk, (Which was used mostly used for visitors and for show) and to the back room. The back room had many lockers which contained different members clothes, weapons, and their other personal items.

Itachi changed into his uniform, then reported to the main room where the captains and their teams met for missions.

Standing there was Kakashi, or as Itachi had to call him, Dog. The other three on the team were Bird, Mouse, and Dragon.

Bird was a sarcastic and slightly insulting woman of about 20 or so. Itachi didn't really like her. Dragon was an older veteran, who'd seen more deaths and killed more people than you could count. Mouse was a newbie. Fresh meat for the older ones to mess around with. Poor girl...

"Hello Cat." Mouse greeted Itachi excitedly. "We're going to guard the Hokage today!" She said. Itachi could hear her smile and her energy.

"As Mouse told you," Kakashi began. "We are simply guarding the Hokage today on his walk."

There was a certain way that Kakashi spoke that suggested that the Hokage's simple 'walk' may be much more than Kakashi was letting on.

"This is pointless." Bird breathed exasperatedly from behind her mask. "I woke up early for this? This is complete bullshit-"

"Yes you did, and you better be quiet before you say something you'll regret." Kakashi said ominously. Bird huffed in annoyance, then turned away. Dragon chuckled at Kakashi's reprimanding of Bird and Mouse tried to contain her excitement for following the Hokage for the day.

Itachi could honestly care less about what mission they went on. His mind was in a completely different and separate place from reality. He had to concentrate on the task ahead in merely two days...

"Cat." Kakashi said. Itachi turned to Kakashi. "Yes?"

"You'll be with Mouse for today. Since she's new, show her the ropes and how we do things." Itachi nodded, a frown hidden by his mask. The last thing he wanted to do was have a loud-mouth girl follow him about for the day, bothering him with pointless questions about what was happening and other meaningless things that held zero interest for Itachi.

"Mouse, Cat is your superior. Though he may be younger than you, you will listen to him and obey without question." Mouse's demeanor turned serious, and she stood up straight then saluted Kakashi. "Yes sir!" She shouted. Itachi could almost hear Kakashi's eye roll.

"There's no need for that Mouse." He said tonelessly.

Bird scoffed. "She won't last even a second."

"She'll be fine." Dragon defended Mouse.

"Let's get going." Kakashi interrupted.

Itachi and the rest of the team performed a few hand seals and appeared behind the Hokage who was standing at the Konoha gates.

The Third didn't bother to look and see who had appeared behind him. Itachi knew that he was aware of their presence since they weren't too quiet in appearing.

"It's such a nice day today isn't it?" The Third said to the air.

Kakashi and the others then disappeared into the trees, as this phrase was their cue.

After that, the next hour was quite uneventful. The Third was walking allow the path as the ANBU team trailed silently in the trees behind.

"Hey Cat." Mouse whispered from behind.

"Shush." Itachi whispered back so that his voice sounded like leaves rustling in the wind.

"Is this seriously our mission?" She asked.

"What did I just say?" Itachi murmured back. He heard a soft and slightly annoyed sigh.

Suddenly, a group of ninja appeared before the Third which had not been there moments before. Two men at the back of the group were holding a small person who's hands were tied behind them with a sack over their head.

"Hello." The Third greeted calmly.

"Are they the-?" Mouse whispered.

"Silence Mouse."

"Are you the Sandaime Hokage?" One of the men in the front asked.

The Third was quiet, then replied. "Are you the terrorist group that I am supposed to make negotiations with?"

"So," Another one of the men stepped forward. He looked the most intimidating out the group of eight. "You're here to hand over the payment?"

The Third didn't answer.

"Hey, Old Man, are you deaf or just stupid? Are you forgetting that we have one of your villagers as a hostage?!" He yelled.

From behind two of the men at the back, they shoved forward the body and yanked off the sack.

It was some attractive villager girl. Her mouth was stuffed and tied so she couldn't speak. Then one of the men pulled the gag off of her.

Obviously she was not a ninja since the first words out of her mouth were, "Help me please!"

"We will kill her if you don't give us the amount we asked."

"You asked for $100,000,000 ryo. I know what you want." The Third said, the polite smile gone.

"Do you have it Old Man?"

"Does it look like I have it?" He replied.

There was silence, then one of the men pulled out a sword.

"We will kill her. Do you not understand this?!" He snapped, then held the sword under the girl's chin.

"NO! Please help me!" She cried, tears running down her face.

The Third didn't react to her tears, but instead said, "It looks a bit cloudy today, doesn't it?"

Itachi nudged Mouse. "Let's go. Take the gang out. Dog, myself, or one of the others will get the hostage."

In that moment, the ANBU team appeared and quickly and easily cut down the group. Itachi was the one who managed to get the hostage, and quickly pulled her out of the one-sided fight, and into the thick forest so she wouldn't see the carnage.

There was no need to try to cover he ears since Kakashi, Bird, Dragon, and Mouse had all killed the terrorists quickly enough that they had no time to scream or yell.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked the girl. They were in a small clearing next to the road a little ways down from where the rest of the team was.

He was kneeling next to her, while she was sitting on the ground. She was crying, then unexpectedly threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I was so afraid!" She sobbed into his uniform, grabbing at the material and bunching it up in her hands. Itachi continued to kneel there, but did not make any sort of movement to comfort her. That was not what he was supposed to do. That was the girl's family's job.

Perhaps it seemed heartless, but this was a rule in the ANBU so as to prevent their people from developing an emotional tie with a hostage, murderer, enemy ninja, civilian, etc.

Besides, Itachi had already had the unfortunate experience of trying to comfort a hostage, his mask getting pulled off, and the girl 'falling in love' with his attractive face.

He would not make that mistake again. Better to just pretend he was another heartless ANBU.

"Alright, let's get you back to Konoha." Itachi said as he attempted to pry the girl's hands from his neck.

"I was so scared!" She cried, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"Come on. Stand up."

"I don't think I can!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. Now she was just being difficult.

"Let go of me please." He asked.

"No! They'll get me!"

"Okay, you are safe. They were taken care of. You'll be-"

"Having issues Cat?"

Itachi turned around with the girl's arms still wrapped about his neck. It was Dragon.

"Slightly, yes." He muttered.

Dragon chuckled. "You can let go of him now Rabbit."

Immediately, the girl released him. "Thank god. That was the worst I've ever had to degrade myself."

Itachi stared at the hostage with a raised eyebrow. What the hell was going on?

"You do know that this is just a mission to test the new girl right?" Said the girl that Dragon called Rabbit.

"So you're ANBU?" Itachi asked curiously.

Rabbit rolled her eyes. "No. Dragon just called me 'Rabbit' because it's a cute name." She scoffed.

"If this was a fake mission, then-"

"Oh no! This mission was real...in a sense. Those gangsters were real, and highly dangerous. I'm an ANBU posing as a harmless civilian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to get kidnapped."

"Right, of course. How could I not know?" Itachi deadpanned. Rabbit smirked.

Just then, Bird, Mouse, and Kakashi appeared through the bushes.

"Took care of them. It was too easy. And pointless." Bird muttered darkly, then pulled out and kunai and began to dig under her nails with the tip.

"Don't do that. You'll mess up the kunai." Dragon scolded.

"Whatever." Bird replied.

"Wow! That...was intense!" Mouse gushed. Itachi almost sighed at her innocence. She'd be singing a different tune in a few years...

"Do we have to bring the hostage back?" Mouse asked.

"Yes. Good thinking Mouse." Kakashi praised. Mouse let out a squeal of excitement.

Mother of God.

So the team got back onto the road, and began to make their way back to Konoha. Kakashi was in front with Dragon walking next to him carrying Rabbit (Who was feigning sleep). Mouse was walking next to Itachi who was at the back of the group. Bird was in the middle of the group.

"Where did the Hokage go?" Mouse questioned.

"He's back in Konoha already." Kakashi answered.

"How?"

"The same jutsu we used to get around."

"So did we complete our mission?"

"I have to file a report on the outcome."

"We don't have to do a report?"

"No, only myself and Cat have to."

"Why Cat?"

"Because he must judge how well you did on your first mission."

"Why him?"

"He was ordered to watch over you during the mission, so it's only right that he be the one to evaluate you."

"Where-"

"Oh my god!" Bird interrupted. "Shut _up! _You keep talking and talking and talking! Do you ever shut up?!" She snapped.

Mouse's ears turned red. "I just want to know what I'm doing."

"You know what you're doing! You're walking back to Konoha with a team of ANBU with a civilian who was previously a hostage who must be very disturbed, scared, and confused!" (Itachi heard the muffled sounds of laughter from Rabbit at this.)

"Well, sorry that I want to perform my job at least a _little_ adequately...unlike you." Mouse snapped.

Bird whipped around and, slapping her face, which knocked off Mouse's mask, had her hand closed in a vice grip around Mouse's throat. Mouse was light enough, and Bird was strong enough that she was able to hold Mouse above the ground by her throat.

"_Excuse me?!_" She snarled. "Who do you think you're talking to, you little rat?!"

"Let go of Mouse." Kakashi said turning around. Kakashi and Dragon had stopped (Rabbit was pretending to be asleep), and turned to watch Bird choke Mouse. Itachi also had stopped.

"No! This little runt needs to learn respect!"

"She's not going to learn anything if you kill her." Itachi said.

Bird's hand tightened, and Mouse's face began to turn an scary shade of blue.

"You can't just kill people every time they make you angry Bird." Dragon said.

Mouse's eyes swiveled around wildly, and landed on Kakashi.

"H...Hel...p" She gagged out through her constricted vocal chords.

"Bird. This'll go on the report you know. If you kill her, I'll have to do a whole new stack of paperwork and you'll lose your position as a captain." Kakashi said tonelessly.

It was silent except for the sound of Mouse's choking.

Suddenly, just as it seemed she'd choke to death, Bird released her and Mouse fell to the ground choking, and gagging.

"Let's continue." Dragon said. So they continued on towards the village, Mouse still on the ground.

"W-Wait!" She coughed out.

Kakashi and the others continued on without a backward glance.

There was no place for the weak in the ANBU. Chances are, Mouse would quit the ANBU after this incident anyway.

* * *

**Yay. Ending. Another chapter. I just released two other chapters for two different stories, and I'm going to have to release the chapter for another last story. **

**And I know this will sound selfish, but please, could you review? I really enjoy reading reviews and knowing that I made someone's day! So if you liked this story, and want to put something, by all means review. I won't bite! Lol! :)**

**Until next time my lovelies, stay beautiful, stay happy, stay safe! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello there. My back still hurts. Very badly. I need some Tylenol or something, cause I feel like an old person with arthritis! Lol. Enjoy.**

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning, Mouse, (Itachi learned her real name was Hikari Katsuki) could been seen turning in her uniform and her mask to be reused for another.

"They never last do they?" Bird sighed as she, Dragon, and Itachi watched Mouse's retreating back from the HQ.

"Not if you almost choke them to death they don't." Itachi said.

"I know my own strength! She was perfectly fine!" Bird snapped defensively. Itachi and Dragon exchanged exasperated looks.

Today was the day Itachi had arranged with "Madara" for the massacre of his clan. Oddly enough, the ANBU seemed to provide an very adequate distraction from this troubling event. Itachi enjoyed interacting with the members of his team. They alone could understand that strange melancholy vibe that seeped from every fiber of Itachi's being.

And they didn't ask questions either.

The trio began to slowly put on their uniforms, knowing fully well that Kakashi was more than likely going to be extremely late as per usual.

So after they finished, they ended up lounging on top of the Hokage monument in a spot where they could see Konoha, but Konoha couldn't see them.

"Has it been an hour yet?" Bird groaned, laying down on her stomach.

"Actually, it's been two hours." Dragon replied with a lazy yawn.

"Ugh..." Bird sighed loudly, and buried her face into her arms. "Why is he _always _late?!" She spoke into her arm, which muffled her voiced.

"I'm not _always _late."

The three of them turned to look behind them, and saw Kakashi standing there in his uniform holding his ANBU mask in his hand.

"Finally!" Bird snapped, slowly getting to her feet. "You take way too long to get here! Honestly, Dog, you're in the ANBU for Christ's sake! I think I understand why you were given the mask, to allude what a lazy dog you are!"

"Not all dogs are lazy!" A voice grumbled. From the bushes stepped the little ninken dog, Pakkun. "Look at me. I'm a ninja dog working with the ANBU. Obviously, I'm not lazy!"

Itachi heard Bird scoff, and Dragon chuckle.

"Alright," Kakashi grabbed his dog mask from his side. "Today we're having a simple mission to take out a group of S-Class nin that have been spotted on the border between us and Suna. Since it's the border, the Sand might've sent out their own ninja to dispatch the rogues. Do not engage in battle with them, unless they attack you. We're there to defend our land, not start a war."

"Also, if they ask for a temporary alliance to allow them to search on our lands with us, the answer is no-"

"I think you should just do the talking Dog." Dragon interrupted. "Knowing Bird, she'll say something absolutely stupid and get us all killed."

"Hey!" Bird protested. Dragon laughed, and pat Bird on the head. She literally growled at him, and attempting to swat his hand away from her hair.

"Remember that recon mission in Kusaga?" Itachi asked attempting and failing to contain a smile. "When we met the Grass ninja and Bird interrupted negotiations between Dog and them, and they attacked?"

"That was one time!" Bird snapped.

"I remember that." Kakashi said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "One of them almost got me in the leg with his sword."

"I was almost cut in half by one of their jutsus." Pakkun chimed in.

"That's your own fault!" Bird said, her ears turning redder by the second. "It's not my fault that they were arrogant cocky bastards!" She protested.

Dragon, Pakkun, and Itachi all laughed at Bird's embarrassment, while Kakashi let out one of his rare and genuine smiles.

"Okay," Kakashi said, still smiling. "We need to get to the border. If we go now, we'll probably be able to reach the border at noon, and have the rest of the day to search for the ninja."

"Well, let's go then!" Bird said, and walked past them, her ears still red from earlier.

Still chuckling, the three and Pakkun followed Bird who had already disappeared with a small 'Poof!'. Performing the hand signs, they appeared just outside the Konoha gates.

Immediately, they set off towards Sunagakure.

* * *

It was 2 o'clock when Team Kakashi got back to Konoha. They'd taken care of the rogue S-class ninja surprisingly easy. On their way back, Itachi had been silent for a long time. Bird and Dragon didn't ask (Because they assumed it was because he'd killed one too many times and was feeling guilty) Kakashi, however, suspected something else.

Kakashi had asked Itachi what was wrong, how he was feeling, and why was he acting strange? Kakashi knew Itachi too well, and could tell that something was wrong.

However Itachi wasn't about to spill his guts to anyone, even Kakashi.

Upon their arrival back in Konoha, in the ANBU HQ, Bird, Dragon, and Kakashi undressed. Then Bird and Dragon left for the newly opened barbecue restaurant at Itachi's insistence.

"Go on ahead. I'll meet up with you guys." He said and waved away his colleagues.

"Alright." Bird said with a shrug, then took Dragon's hand and led him away. Dragon mouthed the word, 'Sorry' to Itachi as they left the changing room.

"Itachi..." Kakashi said, still standing in full uniform leaning against the locker next to Itachi's.

"Yes?"

"Whatever happens tonight...just be safe okay?"

Itachi's hands shook ever so slightly as he grabbed a sword from his locker.

"Of course."

"Itachi." Kakashi grabbed Itachi's shoulder, and forced the boy to look at him. "You're sure you're okay?"

Itachi steeled his frayed nerves, and hid his true feelings with a curt nod. He couldn't afford another panic attack right now.

Kakashi continued to stare into Itachi's eyes, making the Sharingan-user feel uncomfortable. Finally, he released his grip from Itachi's shoulder, then left the HQ.

Itachi was left there, standing next to his locker, still in his full uniform, mask hanging at his side, sword on his hip.

Taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart, he looked to the clock in the corner of the room. 2:37...

He'd scheduled his rendezvous with Madara at 4. They meet at the gates, taking out the guards that patrolled the district on a daily basis.

His parents would be at home right now...probably preparing dinner, or in his father's case, working through the large stacks of paperwork on his desk... Sasuke would get home from school in about another hour or so too...

How could he do this? How could he kill his family? His clan?

* * *

"Fugaku." Mikoto said, walking into his office.

"Enter." Came his reply.

Mikoto walked in, her face looking paler than usual.

"Fugaku, we need to talk-"

"About what? What more do we need to talk about?"

Mikoto bit her lip to hold back a fiery retort. "Itachi he- I think he's in trouble."

"How so?" Fugaku asked, without looking up from his paperwork.

"I think he's on a secret mission for the ANBU. He's been acting so strange lately-"

"ANBU?" That was when Fugaku gave his full attention to his irritated wife.

"Yes. Have you not noticed? I meant to ask you earlier but..." Mikoto trailed off, leaving an awkward silence between the pair as they thought back to their argument from yesterday night.

"If he is on mission from them, he'd have reported to me-"

"Fugaku, I think he's going to kill us." Mikoto interrupted in a quiet voice.

Fugaku's eyes widened, and he slowly closed his mouth. His son? His Itachi? Killing him and his wife?

"Impossible." He muttered gruffly.

"Fugaku Uchiha, use your head for Christ's sake! Think! He's being acting so sullen, and not only that..." Mikoto cast an anxious and stressed look around the room before continuing in a quieter voice. "I was cleaning his room, and I saw the official assignment papers."

Fugaku's nostrils flared in anger. "Is that so?"

"He signed them. I read it all. He has to assassinate the Uchiha." Mikoto wrung her hands, looking up through her eyelashes to see her husband's reaction.

"The entire clan?!"

"I'm afraid so."

Fugaku groaned, then went and sat back down in his desk once again, head in hands. Mikoto quickly made her way over to him, and began to rub his back.

"How could this happen?" He asked, his voice muffled by his hands. "Our very own son?"

Mikoto blinked back her tears. Uchiha women didn't cry.

"He'd always dreamed of peace. I think this rebellion has received the notice of the Village, and now Itachi has accepted the assignment. Because by our death's, will peace come."

"Is there no way to resolve this matter with?! Can we not-?!"

"You and I both know that he's accepted it already. If he does not follow through and complete the mission, he'll be killed."

"No, he can't- Not my son-!"

"Fugaku." Mikoto said. "Look at me." She knelt down in front of her husband's face, and pulled his hands away, revealing tear-stained cheeks.

"He has to do this."

"Our son...I never knew...I never meant for this...Mikoto-" Suddenly, Fugaku stopped as the tears began to fall from his eyes. His body was racked with silent sobs for his son who'd have to kill his parents.

Fugaku laid his head in the crook of his wife's neck, and let the tears fall. Mikoto wrapped her arms around her husband, and she too, began to weep silently, not for their inevitable deaths, but for the death of Sasuke, their friends, their clan, for each other...

And for their son, Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

**I started tearing up while writing this. I hope this makes you feel sad too. Because if you feel the feels right now, I'm doing my job right.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So this is about the number of chapters I aimed for. This may or may not be one of the last ones. I might reach 10 chapters... **

* * *

Itachi was sitting on the large boulder in the pre-determined meeting area. He sat there, eyes closed meditating, trying his best to not think about the task ahead of him.

If he didn't think too hard about what he was about to do, (And if he imagined the Uchiha as objects rather than living and breathing people), he'd be able to finish the mission and prevent a panic attack.

"Itachi Uchiha?" A voice asked from behind him. Itachi opened his eyes to reveal the Mangekyou, burning bright red and black into the twilight of the forest.

"Good, you held up your end of the bargain. I'm glad to see that. Especially because most people are too weak to handle murder." Madara spoke from behind him. Itachi stood up on the rock, then jumped down next to him.

"Let's get this over with." Itachi said stiffly.

"My, my, how cold!" Madara chuckled. "Why on earth are you so rude? Especially to your great-great-great-"

"Be quiet, and let's finish this." Itachi interrupted, and began to walk to a closer range to the Uchiha district.

"You know," Madara said in a quieter voice, that was almost sympathetic-sounding. "You don't have to go through with this."

"Yes, I do. And you're going to help me. Just as we agreed you would." Itachi replied.

Madara was silent as he contemplated the younger Uchiha. He had so much wasted potential...This boy could have changed so much. He seemed to be so bright and full of life before.

Similar to how "Madara's" childhood was.

The older Uchiha closed his eyes tightly, to try to block out the repressed memories. Now was not the time to reflect upon the past. Especially if the past was no longer relevant to the present. There was no reason to dwell on these things. He couldn't change anything.

He'd never get her back...

They'd walked for a few more minutes before nearing the district. There were two sentry guards on duty, same as always.

Itachi then closed his eyes, opening them a moment later, a certain light missing from his eyes.

That was when it began. The massacre that would lead to events that would be irreversible.

Madara began at one end, while Itachi began at the other. Slowly, they made their way through their assigned part of the district. Itachi would kill the people as quick as possible so they wouldn't call for help, and so he wouldn't have to hear their screams. So he wouldn't have to see the betrayal in their dark eyes. The worst part was the killing of the people in the street. They'd see their comrades being killed, and attempt to fight back. Itachi would then have to kill them, regardless of whether they died quickly or slowly.

Madara, meanwhile, was taking some Sharingan for his own to use and experiment. Itachi knew nothing of this. If he did, he might've not ever made the deal with Madara in the first place.

In Itachi's side of the district, he had climbed into the upper windows of one of the houses, and slowly crept down the stairs where the sounds of glasses and plates and muted speaking could be heard. There was probably 4 people. Mother, father, and two daughters, judging from the breathing and the quiet voices speaking.

He stood around the corner of the kitchen, then taking a breath stepped from the wall and into the kitchen.

Immediately, the man sitting there jumped up, his Sharingan spinning to life. Itachi gave him no time to speak, and cut him down the middle, his sword getting caught on the man's head.

This gave the woman, the first daughter and the other girl to stand up and move away from Itachi. He managed to pull the sword out of the man, the hand of the man tearing through the sliding doors, and threw two ninja stars hitting the first daughter and the woman in between the eyes.

All before any of them could utter a sound.

He was about to reach for another, but discovered that his tools had all been used and were gone. So he stood up, and began to walk towards the girl who'd fallen to her knees over the fallen forms of her mother and sister.

"No, they- Mother!" The girl finally found her voice, and held the woman's head between her hands. Itachi swallowed, and raised his sword for the final blow.

"How could you do this?!" She yelled, and looked up at Itachi through her tear and blood-stained face. With a shock, Itachi realized that he recognized the girl. It was Kei, the girl he'd walked home after knocking her over.

"I have to do this." Itachi muttered, attempting to reassure himself, rather than the girl sitting on the ground surrounded by her dead family.

"But why? Why did you-?" Kei choked back a sob.

Itachi grit his teeth, and began to raise the sword once again. "I'm sorry, Kei. This is for the village."

"Itachi, why would you-?!" Suddenly, Kei became silent as Itachi stabbed her through her neck, to make her death as quick and as painless as possible. He heard a gurgle from her as she fought death, and whispered a question that would haunt him for the rest of his life, and follow him until he died.

"Why...?"

Itachi wiped off his bloodied sword on the tablecloth, and exited the house, not looking back.

He'd never be able to live with himself if he did.

Walking through the road, past the bodies, and towards the last place he had yet to kill.

His house. Where his mother and father were probably having dinner without him and their son, Sasuke, who seemed to be running late from school.

Silently entering the large house, Itachi slipped through the familiar hallways, his heart pounding so erratically, so loudly, he was sure his parents would hear it from a mile away.

Nearing the kitchen, he took note of how the dishes were still not washed, and how the lights in the house were off. He couldn't hear anything from any of the rooms.

They must've known what he was going to do...

Itachi allowed chakra to flow to his ears, and listened closely for any unusual noise.

He could hear the sound of gentle, yet labored sounding breaths from his parents' bedroom. Not only that, he could sense the sporadic way their chakra flowed, which betrayed that their fear.

Hands shaking, he performed the hand seals, and appeared in his parents' bedroom. Before him, they stood silently, sad smiles etched on their worn and tired faces.

"Mother, Father-"

"We'll try to make this easier for you." Fugaku interrupted, and knelt on the ground, staring past his son and into the dark night.

"I- I'm so sorry. I-" Itachi closed his mouth, feeling bile rise up in his throat. What kind of sick person murdered their parents for their village?

"It's okay Itachi." Mikoto said, and knelt next to her husband. "Stand behind us." She ordered.

Itachi complied, and took small steps and stood behind his parents.

"Mother, Father...I'm so...so sorry." Itachi said, as his shaky hands slowly pulled out his katana.

"Itachi, before you do this, we need to let you know something." Mikoto said, her soft voice echoing slightly through the deathly quiet room.

"We are proud of you. Everything you've done, we've- we've always loved you." Mikoto's voice broke, and a stray tear rolled down her pale cheek for the last time.

"Mother-"

"Son, you are strong." Fugaku interrupted. "Even if we...if I never told you, I just thought you should know...I love you, Itachi. You are my son. My brave, brave son."

Itachi blinked away the tears. The sword tip was resting on the wood floor, shaking from Itachi's hands. He was completely a mess.

"Itachi, you are an Uchiha. We know you can do this. For us, for the village...and for your brother."

Itachi inhaled a sharp, soul-wrenching sob. Grabbing the sword with both hands, he tried to stop the shaking, and tried to see through the tears falling from eyes.

"Don't worry about us. We understand, and we will always love you, no matter what you have to do. If this is how peace can be brought...then let it happen."

"You are truly a gentle child..."

Itachi closed his eyes. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do it-

"Breathe, Itachi." Mikoto said.

So Itachi listened to his mother, and took a deep breath. Then opened his eyes to look at his parents, alive and well, for the last time.

Then he finished the mission assigned to him. He assassinated the remaining two adults Uchiha clan.

He closed his eyes, the tears making their way from his eyes, to the floorboards. He took another deep breath, as an attempt to calm his frayed nerves and shattered heart.

He then did the common ANBU teleportation hand seals, and disappeared from their room and his house for the last time, in his and Madara's meeting spot.

"Why, hello Itachi-san. I believe I upheld my end of the bargain," He said, twirling a kunai on his hand. Itachi sickeningly recognized it as a specially made kunai from the Uchiha's personal blacksmith, Jiro. He had always been polite to Itachi and Sasuke, and treated them as normal people, rather than the heirs to the Uchiha clan legacy.

"You can leave now." Itachi said, no emotion in his voice. If he let his emotions run wild, he wouldn't be able to even stand without the guilt and the pain tearing at him.

Madara chuckled darkly, then performed his odd technique of disappearing into thin air. Itachi activated his Sharingan as he used the jutsu.

Itachi immediately became suspicious. He just disappeared like that. A different dimension perhaps...?

Then he realized that it was the Mangekyou, same as him. However, it was more mature than his own. It enabled Madara to teleport to anywhere.

Suddenly, Itachi a felt a familiar chakra signature hit him like a wall. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he hadn't completely finished the mission.

Sasuke was still alive.

* * *

**Chapters are shorter, but everything is much more intense. I hope this wasn't too rushed. I tried to incorporate as much emotion and feels into this as I could. Hope I killed your heart! :) Sorry.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this should be the final chapter of my story (still don't have a name as I write this. I need to get on that...) Enjoy. (Hawaiian bread tastes very good. Just a FYI...)**

* * *

Sasuke was breathing hard as he ran towards his house. Oh his parents were going to be so angry! Even if it wasn't his fault that school went longer than normal, and that he wanted to master the fireball jutsu. He'd showed his father by the lake that one day, but Fugaku didn't seem impressed. So Sasuke must've been doing _something _wrong...

As he neared the district, it was oddly dark and quiet. Was it really that late at night?! It couldn't be!

Passing through the entrance of the village, he thought he saw something. Turning to look, he saw that there was nothing there. It was just his imagination.

However, if he'd turned around faster or been able to detect chakra, he would've known that it was his brother, watching from the rooftops.

Itachi continued to watch his younger brother through his Mangekyou. The young boy was still running towards his house, and failed to notice the first body in one of the alleyways.

Itachi cringed, recognizing the dead person. He could remember the way they'd pleaded for mercy...

Sasuke, however, ran onward completely oblivious. His parents would be so furious with him!

Suddenly, as he rounded the corner, he saw the bodies.

They were all over in the street, eyes open, blood dripping.

What the hell was going on here?

Disregarding all deathly quiet everywhere, disregarding the other many bodies the little boy ran towards his house. He reached the familiar door, and flung it open. Running through the hallways towards his parents' room he noticed something that most kids wouldn't.

A drop of blood.

It could be anything really. Maybe his mother cut herself while making dinner...? No, not with what was outside.

Sasuke suddenly felt very scared. And felt suddenly very cold. No...

He continued towards their bedroom, he prepared himself for a scolding for disturbing his parents while they were sleeping. He was old enough now that he had no reason to wake them in the night anymore. He was hoping that they were sleeping.

Ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach, he flung open the door gasping in disbelief at the horrific sight before him.

Sasuke's hopes crumbled to nothing as he stared at his mother and father who were laying on the floor. His father was sprawled over his mother, the latter of which had blood and tears dripping down her face.

Standing behind them was Itachi.

"No..." Sasuke said, staring at his parents' lifeless forms. "This can't be happening!" He said, more panicked now. "Why did you do this?!" He yelled, staring into the cold dark eyes of his elder brother.

Itachi was silent. Suddenly, Sasuke was thrust into a world of orange and gray. He turned around and around, searching for Itachi. He found him, standing over a Uchiha family that had a little boy that Sasuke used to play with. Sasuke screamed, as he watched Itachi kill them. The blood was everywhere. It was an ocean of bright red, with Sasuke drowning in the middle, being pulled down by the skeletons of the dead. He tried to scream, but the blood poured into his mouth, silencing all sound...

He fell to the ground sobbing, and discovered that he was back in his parents' bedroom. Itachi was standing over his parents corpses still...blood dripping from his hands. Sasuke could smell the blood, and see the dead bodies of the people he'd killed. He watched Itachi kill everyone...all the Uchiha. Gone just like that. By his brother's own hands.

Suddenly Itachi disappeared.

No, he wasn't going to get away that easy! Not with Sasuke there!

Sasuke struggled to his feet, trying to stop his crying and ran through the house. Following his instincts, he ran into the street. There, Itachi stood in the middle of the cobble stone road, surrounded by the dead. Now, Sasuke got a better look at the many bodies strewn everywhere.

Blood ran down the gutters, he could see the blank startled looks on the people. The lifeless and deathly eyes that were still wide open...still staring at their murderer.

Itachi slowly put his katana back into it's sheath. He didn't know if he could speak to his brother. How could he face Sasuke, after what he'd done to him, to their parents?

"But...Yes, you can't be my brother...because..." Sasuke sputtered. The tears were blurring his sight, and made it hard to see through the fear and pain driven haze.

"The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this...To ascertain your capacity."

"Itachi!" Sasuke suddenly yelled, his anger fueling the pain and raw emotion in his voice. "Why?! Why would you do this?"

"To test my strength, and yours." Itachi replied emotionless.

Sasuke stared in surprise and slight disgust at the brother he'd once put on a pedestal.

A thought then came to him...A memory of when Itachi had said that Shisui was like a brother to him.

And a memory of when he was accused of his death and denied it.

"Nii-san...did you kill Shisui? I thought that Shisui was like a brother to you."

Itachi almost flinched at these words, but managed to continue with the painful charade.

"Thanks to him, I was able to obtain this eye." He replied coolly. No matter what, Itachi could never pretend he had killed his best friend. So he replied as best as he could.

Itachi breathed in and out as calmly as he could. He could feel the guilt, and the anxiety. He could feel the rising panic, threatening to overflow. He couldn't. He couldn't fight the pain. He couldn't do it.

He couldn't kill Sasuke.

That was when he made a decision. A decision that would force certain unchangeable events into motion. He wouldn't fully complete the mission. He would leave Sasuke to the village. Sasuke would follow the path of light, away from the darkness of his clan.

"But...Itachi, why?" Sasuke asked, his voice quivering.

"If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and live a loathsome life..." Itachi paused, and turning towards Sasuke, he opened his eyes to reveal the Mangekyou. "And someday, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sasuke screamed, and ran at Itachi, tears falling behind him as he ran. Itachi saw his brother normally black eyes turn red, and a black tomoe on the edge of the red.

Sasuke had awoken his Sharingan, as Itachi had intended him to.

Itachi didn't move, and this allowed Sasuke to get a single blow in before he was easily kicked aside. Sasuke managed to knock off his brother's headband, and leave the tiniest scratch across the leaf.

Itachi ignored Sasuke, who was curled in a fetal position coughing and wheezing from the kick, and Itachi bent over and picked up the headband. Turning around as he stood up again, Itachi found that he couldn't stop the tears. Their eyes found each other. Sasuke was watching him with so much pain in his eyes. Itachi hoped that he wouldn't notice the amount of regret in his own. Sasuke could never know what really happened...

Just as Sasuke passed out, (from the genjutsu Itachi had placed upon him and the amount of information that his little mind couldn't handle), Itachi disappeared with a few quick but sloppy hand seals.

He needed some air.

He was in the woods. In that little grassy field, away from the rest of the world. Suddenly, he just screamed. An agonizing scream of someone who's just lost everything that means something to them. Itachi inhaled heavily, and in the cover of the dense forest, he bared his soul to the world and cried. He cried for the loss of his family. He cried for his brother. He cried for the kids that he killed. He cried and cried until there were no more tears left, until he was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. Finally, the enormity of the situation hit him. The Uchiha had been completely decimated to a torn legacy left behind in the form of a broken little boy.

What had he done...?


	10. Epilogue

**This is the epilogue for the story. If you want to die, or you're currently crying, then I've done my job. Have a fan-(don't-die-there-are-so-much-more-feels-to-come)tastic day! :) **

**Edit 2: I finished this quite awhile ago, and now I've completed my first fanfic on here. Even though only a few people are reading this, I'm glad you guys gave this story a chance and continued to read it until the bittersweet end. Cheerio, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the sunrise, and continued to wait outside, smoking the tobacco from his pipe. He was waiting for someone... He'd been waiting for most of the night. It would be day soon.

He blew a ring of smoke, and watched it dissipate into the orange light of the morning. The fire in his pipe died down, then he quite suddenly began to speak to the air.

"I'm sorry you had to do this." He said.

There was silence, and the old man continued.

"You've served the village quite well. Even if...it involved what it did." He paused, and sighed. "You won't be able to stay here. Not after what's happened. They'll grow to despise you..." Hiruzen pulled his hat further down over his eyes. "I will make sure he's safe. Don't worry."

"Thank you..." A voice murmured from behind Hiruzen.

"Good luck, Itachi." He said, still facing the place where the sun had risen.

There was a whoosh of leaves and wind from behind him, as Itachi Uchiha disappeared from the village for the last time, never to return.

The Hokage sighed to himself. This would be a story that went down in the history books...for decades to come. The Uchiha ranks, decimated to nothing by one of their own.

The Third re-lit his pipe, and looked out over Konoha.

The unfortunate tragedy of the Uchiha would be remembered for a long time indeed...

* * *

Through the forest, Itachi jumped from branch to branch. He was searching for the group that he'd heard Madara talk about once before. It was called the Akatsuki...

He'd been traveling for about 2 days in the direction that Madara's chakra had traveled in. It was a faint trail of the chakra signature, and Itachi hoped that it didn't lead too far. He didn't plan to stop again. He needed to find them, so he could watch Madara's actions. If they involved Sasuke, he'd had to act and protect him, the last of the Uchiha besides himself.

Before he left, he grabbed a cloak to conceal his identity from whoever may be looking for him. Otherwise, he let behind everything else.

He traveled for most of the day, concealing his chakra so the Konoha ANBU would be unable to locate him. This was smart, because the chakra signature lead through most of the Leaf's territory. It began to rain as night fell, and Itachi eventually came to tall buildings. He assumed that he was in Amegakure, because of the constant downpour, ever since he left Konoha territory. The rain made visibility poor, and this is where the trail ended too. He decided to stop there for the night. Try to get a room. If they recognized him, he'd just put them under a genjutsu, then make them forget he was ever there.

He didn't think he could stand to kill anyone else. Not after the clan...

Spotting a bar through the rain, he made his way to the small building. Opening the door, he stepped into the quiet and warm room. There were four people inside. Two at a booth, and two at the bar.

Itachi had the hood of the cloak pulled up still, and rather than pulling it down and shaking off the rainwater, he left up the hood, and took a seat at the bar in the corner closest to the wall. This allowed him to watch who came and went, and he was able to watch the bartender as well.

The bartender attempted to get Itachi a drink, but he waved him away. With him now being a fugitive, you could never be too careful. Anyone could be a spy, waiting to pour cyanide or another sort of poison into your drink...

Itachi sat there quietly, and began to pick up the conversations of the people with his chakra enhanced hearing. Information was needed on the Akatsuki, since their trail ended here, in Amegakure.

"How could she do that me ya know-?"

"So I heard about him-"

"She's just angry because _I'm _the one who-"

"Yea, Itachi Uchiha!"

Itachi immediately tuned out the two in the booth,and concentrated on the two at the bar.

"I've heard some rumors about him." The guy in the hat said. He looked around the bar, then leaned towards his friend. "He fled Konoha because apparently he killed the rest of the Uchiha."

"What?!" He friend whispered in surprise.

"I know. I just heard from my friend who overheard some Konoha ninja. I don't know if it's true though."

"How could he kill his family? What kind of a monster would do that?!"

"I don't know. He must've really been evil."

That was when Itachi stood up abruptly, receiving the confused looks from the two at the bar, and the two at the table. He left without looking back. Already, the news of the massacre had reached other villages, such as Amegakure.

He have to get used to this...This uncomfortable feeling of people thinking that they understood his motives better than he did.

If he reflected on what had happened in the past few days for too long, he'd most likely have a panic attack.

Walking back through the rain, towards the same way he came in, two cloaked figures were suddenly standing in front of him.

Perhaps these were the guards of the elusive Amegakure's leader?

"Itachi Uchiha," The one on the right spoke crisply, and smoothly to him. Judging from their voice and small stature, the speaker was obviously female. The other person on the left was more than likely male, just by looking at the height difference between the two, and the wide berth of his shoulders.

"You have no reason to be here." She said.

"I am looking for the Akatsuki." Itachi said.

The woman tilted her head slightly, and Itachi could imagine her eyes narrowing at his forwardness, and his knowledge of the group.

"We run this village. Why do you seek us?" She asked.

Itachi felt his heart skip a beat. No wonder the trail ran cold...This is where the group stayed at. He'd successfully tracked the most unknown terrorist group in the ninja world.

"My clan is dead, killed by my own hands." Itachi answered, trying to forget the horrible memories of killing neighbors, children, and his parents.

"I need a purpose, since I can no longer stay in Konoha."

"They will search for you. We do not need Konoha ninja discovering our whereabouts all because we allowed Itachi Uchiha to join us."

"They will search, yes, but they will not find me unless I want them to. Do you forget that I have the Sharingan?" He asked, the red suddenly overtaking the black in his eyes.

"I am one of the last in the ninja world with these eyes. I would be an asset to your cause."

"Do you know what our cause is? Would you be willing to sacrifice your humanity for the sake of it? For the sake of the world? For the sake of something you never even knew existed?"

Itachi paused for a millisecond, then spoke clearly to the two cloaked figures. In doing this, he knew he'd sealed his fate and resigned himself to a life of crime and murder until he the day he died.

How had it all come to this?

Suddenly, an image of his younger sibling, laughing and smiling with him, then crying over his dead parent's bodies, came to mind.

The answer was clear now. He'd do whatever it took to protect Sasuke. He'd even kill, so long as it prolonged Sasuke's safety.

"Yes."

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha sat outside the meeting room of the The Konoha Council, quietly awaiting the moment when he'd have to recount the horrid tale for the first time.

"Come in." An old man's voice said from behind the green wooden door.

Sasuke stood up, and entered into the room without any sort of emotion crossing his childish features. Upon opening the door, he saw that ANBU were standing near every other entrance, even the one Sasuke had come through. At the long table, each chair was occupied by a person. Most of them being Hyuuga, as the Uchiha side of the council was all dead.

At the end of the table, an elderly man and woman sat staring his him with their cold eyes. Next to them, was the Hokage and another man with bandages covering his right eye and his arm in a sling.

The only chair that was empty was the one at the head of the table. Sasuke assumed that this was his seat.

"Don't be shy, come sit down." Spoke one older Hyuuga woman gently. Sasuke looked at her directly in her pale lavender eyes.

There was no warmth there. They could've been Itachi's eyes, only purple.

Sasuke looked away from the old woman, and went and took his spot at the head of the table.

The moment he sat down, the old woman closest to him (Who was not a Hyuuga) began to speak.

"Would you like to tell us what happened please?" She spoke kindly, with a smile that was sick and twisted looking. Like the Hyuuga elder, her eyes did not match her voice.

Looking around at the eyes of all of the people at the table, he found that none of them contained any sympathy or concern. Rather, they had a greedy look to them, like the story he was about to tell would give some sadistic pleasure to their wretched lives.

The only person Sasuke found himself even remotely drawn to was the Hokage, as his eyes _did _in fact match his general demeanor. The Third emanated kindness and comfort.

However, this did not comfort Sasuke at all. All he wanted as well was to hear the story. No one cared about him, just about his dead parents.

"Sasuke-kun?" The old woman spoke again, this time a tad bit more impatiently. "Please, tell us everything. Don't leave out any detail."

"You want to hear what happened?" Sasuke finally spoke.

"Yes, whenever you're ready-"

"You can see for yourself what happened. Surely there has already been an entire file made upon their deaths. Or is the village's ninja becoming even more incompetent?" Sasuke interrupted the woman, and stared at her, dead in the eyes.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Now, I understand you've just been through a traumatic experience, but that is no way to speak to-"

"I will speak to a person how ever they need to be spoken to." Sasuke interrupted once again, still staring impassively into her eyes.

"If you behave like a dog, chasing it's ball without stopping to think about the thorn bush ahead, then I will address you accordingly."

The woman felt a strange twinge of fear in her old heart. As did the rest at the table. The cold aura, emanating from the small child before them was unlike anything from a child.

It was adult anger and malice, that was contained in the form of a boy. A boy, who they felt could kill many of them in his anger if they pushed him too far.

This little boy had no humanity left in him. And if he did, it had been squashed into almost nothing.

"You know what happened. You don't need to hear it from me." Sasuke stated emotionless. "Itachi Uchiha slaughtered the Uchiha clan like common pigs. I was left alive because...I wasn't important enough to kill." He finished, gritting his teeth together in anger.

The woman nodded. "Is there anything else?"

Sasuke was quiet, and stared down at the table, eyes closed in thought. The Council was leaning forward, eager to hear his next few words.

"If the dog doesn't see the thorns, and it runs into it, who will save the dog from it's own stupidity? Surely not the Hawk, or the Rattlesnake, or the Bull, or the Tiger. Instead, they will take advantage of the Dog's weakness and attack as one."

The Council members looked at each other, confused. What was he talking about...?

Sasuke saw their confusion, and decided to clarify things for the slow old people.

"Konoha will not stand an attack from the other villages. Instead of attempting to hear the testimony of a six-year-old boy, and use it as a weapon against the already dead Uchiha, perhaps you should focus your attention on the fact that one of your best ninja have abandoned the village with much information, and may use that information to their advantage."

"Konoha _will _fall in the next 48 hours...unless you old bats decide to actually do something useful, instead of sitting at a table listening to the words of a mere child. The same child who you deem it wise to base your decisions upon his words." Sasuke finished.

"I have noting else to say." Sasuke said, and scooting the chair from the table, he stood up and walked out of the meeting room. Leaving behind him, the shocked and insulted elders of Konoha.

Sasuke quickly exited the building, not even caring about the fact that he'd just insulted some of the most prominent and powerful political figures in Konoha.

He had better things to do than sit in a meeting room and recount his parents' deaths.

One thing he could be doing was training, which was where he was headed to now. The training grounds.

He reached his destination in no time, his thoughts making everything around him seem trivial. Immediately, he began to assault a tree that had padding around it's base.

He continued this until the sun began to set. The tears had been falling from his cold dark eyes from quite some time now, though he made no sound of grief. He mourned quietly for his clan.

He vowed that that would be the last time he ever cried. Never again would he show weakness. Love and weakness seemed to go hand in hand. Love is how Sasuke was duped into believing that his brother was the perfect sibling.

_Itachi would pay. _

Sasuke punched the little tree so hard, that it left a dent in the tree, and bark embedded in his hand.

Itachi would die. Sasuke would do what his 'Nii-san' told him. _He'd despise him, hate him, and live a loathsome life. And when he gained the same Sharingan as his brother..._

The cold black eyes of Sasuke melted into red with a single tomoe, as the tree suddenly shattered under the impact of Sasuke's second punch.

_He'd kill him._

* * *

**That concludes The Unfortunate Tragedy of the Uchiha!**

**I hope you enjoyed, this was a lot of fun to write, and we've come so far! I thank you few that have read this once again until the end. **

**Until next time my lovelies... **


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